My Fatal Attraction
by emisonisON
Summary: The liars are in their first year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Emily, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna find themselves immediately drawn together and become instant best friends, despite not all being in the same House. But what happens when Emily, a Gryffindor, takes a special interest in Alison, the mean girl from her House's sworn enemy, Slytherin? AU EMISON! Em's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Oh herro everyone! It is I, the author of "Do You Love Me?" and "Snow Globes." I couldn't help myself, I've been dying to upload this story since I finished writing the first chapter!**

**As the prompt says, this is an AU for the five liars, and takes place at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here's a couple disclaimers and things you should know:**

**1\. The girls are 14. I know that in Harry Potter, everyone starts out at age 11. But in this AU, Hogwarts is a high school. So, they're freshman.**

**2\. THIS IS AU. So there's no A and I'm taking creative freedom in writing this story. Some of the things will be similar-like Aria dating Ezra, Paige and Ali hating each other, etc. You'll see. If I confuse you at all, please let me know.**

**3\. This is NOT A CROSSOVER. Just wanted to make that really clear. So the liars are themselves, they just so happen to be going to school at Hogwarts. I like the idea of bringing magic into an already incredible story.**

**Okay! Without further ado, here is Chapter 1. Let me know what you think!**

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Ch 1

I snuggle farther into my wizard robes, suddenly feeling the drafty air enter my compartment. I look to my right, out the window. The train I'm on has just winded its way through a large thicket of trees, and we're coming up on a rather large tunnel. Within moments, darkness engulfs me; I can't even see my hand, despite the fact that it's right in front of my face. I hear Aria, one of my childhood best friends, squeak a little in shock. The light flickers back around us as we exit the tunnel, and I can't help but laugh at her frightened appearance. She brushes her dark hair out of her face and rolls her eyes.

I take a deep breath and suck my lips in; I'm so nervous for this.

A couple of weeks ago, I received my official invitation to start high school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My mom was so excited that she made my favorite dinner four nights in a row. Apparently it's harder to get into now than it's ever been. Of course, my dad was happy, too. But, he has some 'secret' job for the Ministry of Magic; he's almost never home. I can't even remember the last time all three of us sat together for dinner.

It's kind of lonely being an only child. I mean, I was forced to go to a muggle elementary school, so of course I had friends, but none of them were really… like me. Strange, unexplainable things never happened to them. They couldn't unlock doors without a key, or stare at a plant until it spontaneously combusts, or even sometimes make things disappear.

I glance to the seat across from me and grin at Aria. She's always been the only friend I've had who also can use magic. We met through our moms, who went to Hogwarts together. Aria has always been an interesting and artistic person, which I think is cool. She uses her clothing to express how she's feeling, and I've always been a little envious of that. It makes me sad knowing that she won't really be able to wear anything other than the school uniform.

The door to our compartment opens suddenly, causing me to jump a little. My eyes go right to the doorway, where a young, blonde teen is standing. She's not in her robes, which confuses me. Instead, she's in some sort of fashionable getup that is so expensive that I don't even like thinking about it. She has a gold, glittery tank top that's made of some material that probably costs my entire tuition, and a pair of dark washed, tight jeans. I didn't get a chance to look at her heels before she closes the door behind her and takes the seat next to Aria. The mystery girl looks bored as hell. Aria and I exchange a look.

"Sorry," she says, shrugging and looking between me and my friend. "The conductor told me that I had to sit down or he was going to throw me out the window. I've just been too anxious to sit anywhere."

She looks a little embarrassed as she stares down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. The fact that she's sitting as far away from Aria as possible doesn't go unnoticed.

"I am too," I admit, quietly. The second that she looks back up at me, I quickly look away. She notices my spastic movements and I notice her smirk a little out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm Hanna," she says as she shakes Aria's hand. She smiles softly and extends her hand out to me. I must stare at it for a few moments too long, because she speaks again. "I'm not going to bite you, just shake my hand."

When I look back at her, she has a genuine smile on her face. Just seeing her smile so big made me feel more comfortable. I smile in return and shake her hand.

"I'm Emily," I clear my throat.

"Aria."

"Cool," is all Hanna says.

We fall into a silence, but it's not uncomfortable. I think the fact that we're all equally nervous is actually comforting to each of us.

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"Now, if you will just file forward," a tall man's booming voice echoes through the halls.

I grab onto Aria's hand, making sure that I don't lose her.

We're standing right outside the Great Hall. I can feel my heart picking up speed with each second that passes by. We're waiting to be sorted into the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. I don't really know anything about any of the houses, so unlike my fellow peers, I don't have a preference. I just hope that whatever house I'm sorted into makes me feel at home.

The tall man, who introduces himself as Professor Hackett, leads us into the Great Hall. I feel like every single eye in the entire school is staring at me. We make our way between the houses' tables and up to the front of the hall. With help from another professor, he corrals us into a circle.

I take a few peeks around me, suddenly not feeling quite as nervous as before. I glance down at Aria and my interlocked hands; it gives me confidence that everything is going to be fine. All of the people around us don't seem like _evil_ or something. There are a few kids who either already knew people in our class or are really good at making friends. Either way, I figure that I'll be fine.

He starts calling names, clearly not alphabetically. I ignore him, still glancing around the room. Aria sidles closer to me without saying anything.

My eyes immediately stop searching when my gaze falls upon a beautiful blonde girl, standing in almost the middle of the circle of First Years. I furrow my eyebrows—since when have I felt that way about girls? My heart rate picks up again and my hands start to feel clammy. Great, just when I had calmed down. I hope Aria doesn't notice that my palms are sweating.

The blonde girl looks in my direction, clearly bored. Within moments, we make eye contact. My breath gets caught in my throat and I forget how to breathe. She stares at me with the most beautiful cerulean eyes, one perfectly manicured eyebrow arched. I can't tell if she's disgusted or if she's just confused as to why I'm staring at her. All I know is that I _need_ to know her name at least. I want to find out more about her life. She looks away from me, finally, whispering something to the girl beside her. Her friend, also a blonde, giggles a little and looks in my direction. She waves, clearly making fun of me. My stomach drops like I'm on a rollercoaster.

"Spencer Hastings."

A tallish brunette with a serious expression pushes through the throng of students. She glares at the two blonde friends as she shoulders into both of them. The beautiful blonde rolls her eyes, while her friend swats at this girl named Spencer.

Spencer's sorting is the first one I've actually paid attention to. She moves confidently up to the altar and sits on an old, rickety, wooden stool. It quivers a little as she puts her weight on it.

Professor Hackett moves forward and places an old, disgusting and withered witch's hat on Spencer's head. Spencer furrows her eyebrows, almost as if she's listening to someone talking.

Wait, is that hat talking to her telepathically?

"RAVENCLAW," the pointed hat screams.

Spencer noticeably exhales a sigh of relief. She shakes Hackett's hand and hurries off to go take a seat with her new house.

"Hanna Marin."

The pretty blonde girl from the train struts her way up to the stool. Her heels clack against the marble floor before coming to a halt as she sits down. A grimace makes its way onto her face as the old, ratty hat is placed on her head. It causes the crowd of students to chuckle.

The hat stays on her head for a few moments, and she narrows her eyes every once and a while. She bites her bottom lip, smudging some of her lip gloss.

After a few moments, "GRYFFINDOR."

I swallow and grab ahold of Aria's hand. Hanna looks so happy; I wonder if I got sorted into that house… I wonder if I could be that happy, too.

"Alison DiLaurentis."

My heart stops as the beautiful blonde looks up in response to her name. She puts a finger against her friend's lips to indicate that she should stop talking. With a smirk, Alison rolls her shoulders and flips her hair, winking at one of the guys in the process. She saunters her way up to the stool, sitting on it gracefully. She crosses her legs and waits expectantly.

The hat has barely touched the top of her gorgeous, golden hair, when it screams, "SLYTHERIN."

She smirks, and points over to her friend. Her friend rolls her eyes. Alison makes her way through the crowd towards the Slytherin table.

Alison. What a pretty name.

"Aria Montgomery."

I give Aria's hand a little squeeze for good luck. She gives me a panicked look before slowly making her way up to the stool. She sits, clearly uncomfortable under all of the attention. The hat is placed lightly on the crown of her head. She takes a deep breath and listens intently to it.

"RAVENCLAW."

Aria beams, probably thankful to not be in Slytherin. She bounds away from the stool and in the same direction as the Hastings girl.

"Emily Fields."

I noticeably jump and my face heats up. I clear my throat and nervously approach the stool and hat. Hackett stands beside it and waits patiently for me to sit down.

He lowers the hat onto my head, and I instantly hear a voice in my head. I look around subtly, trying to see if anyone else can hear it. Everyone is staring at me, but it doesn't seem like anyone else can hear the hat talking to me.

"Fields, Fields, Emily Fields," it sings. I can hear the joy behind its voice. "Daughter of Wayne and Pam; they were good, very good. Wizards and people. I know just where to put you. You'll find the best side of yourself in… GRYFFINDOR!"

I sigh, relieved. I don't know why, but since I saw that girl Hanna from the train was sorted into this house, I kind of wished that I could be sorted there, too. Even after seeing Aria sorted into Ravenclaw. I shakily step off of the stool, praying that my knees don't collapse. That would be so uncomfortable.

I try to slide in between and around my peers as I make my way over to the Gryffindor table. The first person I see is Hanna, and I don't waste any time moving to sit next to her.

There are rounds of congratulations and back slaps from my fellow Gryffindors as I sit down. I beam at the people around me.

"Well, long time no see, Em," Hanna playfully rams into my shoulder. She looks at me with raised eyebrows.

I smile wider, but this time it's more to myself than anyone else. I hadn't even been here for two hours and I already felt completely at home.

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**alright well i hope you guys enjoyed it! i'm still not completely sure if i want to continue, so please give me feedback and let me know what you think. i always look forward to hearing from you!**

**have a great day lovelies!**


	2. Chapter 2

**short filler chapter... sawwy. **

**i wanted to address one of the reviews from a guest: i'm SO GLAD you mentioned those characters, because i agree. i really wish that i had incorporated lucas, mona, etc more in my other fic. Mona definitely has a big role in this, too. I never thought about adding Wes in there- good call :)**

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Ch 2

I wake up the following morning fairly early. I was too excited to sleep last night. I sit up and stretch before stepping out of my four-poster bed. I make sure to smooth the covers and make the bed before I get dressed.

"Morning, Emily."

To my surprise, I turn around only to come face to face with Hanna. I wasn't expecting anyone else to be up this early. I finish putting on the last bit of my uniform before I answer.

"Hey," I croak awkwardly. My voice is so weird in the morning.

"Wanna go grab some breakfast and coffee? Maybe explore the castle a little bit?" she winks at me. I nod my head furiously and follow her out of the dormitory and into our common room.

It's completely empty, except for two older girls who are gossiping in the corner. I make eye contact with one of them and she smiles, but it looks fake.

Hanna and I exit the Gryffindor common room via that giant portrait that guards our secret dorm. It closes behind us, making a loud clacking sound.

We make our way down the stairs, chatting idly about the school year and our interests. I find out that she's very into fashion—could have guessed—and boys. Her mom works as a secretary for the famous Hastings Law Firm. Rumor has it that Veronica Hastings has never lost a case.

I talked to her about my parents, but only briefly. By the time we got around to me, we were just sitting down, and Hanna looks like she's ready to feast.

"Hey, Em," Aria's voice comes from behind me. She made her way over from the other end of the Ravenclaw table so that she could be next to us. Spencer, whom I remember from last night, follows her.

"Hey, Aria!" I smile and give her a huge hug. She laughs at my enthusiasm and shakes her head lightly.

Spencer gives Hanna an awkward hug and then looks at me.

"I'm Spencer," the brunette extends her hand. I shake it with confidence, something I didn't even realize I had attained.

"Emily," I smile.

Since it's not dinnertime, all students are allowed to sit at whatever table they like. We can socialize with the friends who aren't part of our houses.

I sit next to Hanna, across from Spencer, with Aria diagonally to my left. Our conversations go from talking about imaginary boyfriends to the toast on the table to our favorite shows to basically everything.

Hanna is about to tell a story when Spencer's face goes white. She stares over my shoulder, evidently horrified by what she sees. Hanna turns around to see what she's looking at, not caring that she should be subtle. She groans, which piques my curiosity. I follow her lead and look behind me.

It's the beautiful blonde from last night, Alison.

"What's wrong?" Aria asks, her voice full of concern.

"I just hate that girl so much," Spencer's voice shakes. She clenches her teeth as Alison looks over in our direction. She gives Spencer a very fake smile and wiggles her fingers at her in a mock greeting.

"Ugh, I know," Hanna mumbles. "Who doesn't?"

"Who are the other girls?" I ask casually, trying not to sound too interested. My eyes have fallen upon the other blonde from last night and a girl with dark brown hair. They all look like they just stepped off of the runway of a major fashion show.

"The other blonde," Spencer points to her, "is Cece Drake. And the brunette is Mona Vanderwaal. They were the power three at Hanna and my elementary school."

"Oh," I say quietly and turn back around to watch Spencer.

"They're just horrible people," she continues, stabbing a piece of sausage on her plate. She lifts it up to her mouth and chews it, swallowing loudly. "Ugh, kill me, they're coming over here."

"They make fun of a lot of people, but they enjoy pissing Spencer off the most," Hanna whispers to me. She nods her head dramatically to emphasize the truth in her statement.

"Oh my god, Spencer!" the girl named Cece gushes. "I've been wondering when we were going to run into you. I'm _so glad_ you made friends."

The sarcasm dripping from her voice makes me feel sick.

"Yeah, you tripled the amount you had in elementary school," Mona interjects, causing Cece and Alison to burst out into laughter. She lays a hand on Alison's shoulder, clearly trying to impress her. Alison just rolls her eyes in response.

"Glad you guys are in such a good mood," Spencer says through gritted teeth. She glares at Mona.

"Oh, Hanna," Alison finally speaks, startled. She has a hand on her chest as if someone just scared her.

Oh my god she sounds like an angel. I think I just found my new favorite sound.

"What, Alison?" she snaps.

"I didn't even notice you without a triple chocolate cake in front of you," she sneers. Her voice cuts through the air around us. Hanna slumps forward onto the table, clearly upset.

Alison watches Hanna gleefully while Cece and Mona howl with laughter. She smiles at Spencer next and shrugs her shoulders. I silently curse myself for still loving the sound of her voice.

"We'll see you guys around," Cece flips her hair over her shoulder and waves sarcastically. Alison links her arms with both of the girls and leads them away without saying anything else.

All of us watch their retreating figures with vehemence and anger. I bite down on my lip and look up at the other girls. They all share the same horrified expression.

Note to self: steer clear of the 'Power Three.'

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**so i hope you guys enjoyed! lemme know what you think :) i can't wait to hear from you! next update will be soon, i promise!**


	3. Chapter 3

**so i know sometimes my writing may start off a little slow and without too much solo emison interaction, but i want to have a background for emily and alison. they do have their own friends in the beginning of this story, and i want their relationship to be realistic. so they're not just going to meet and then do the deed... maybe ;) that's for my next fanfic heheheh**

**okay i'm annoying. here's the next chapter! thanks to Sabrina for giving me a little kick in the butt to upload this haha i'm so lazy :D**

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Ch 3

_Dammit_, I think to myself furiously. I was supposed to be in Potions class five minutes ago, which might as well be yesterday. It's only the first day of classes and I'm already late; I'm clearly not off to a good start.

I curse under my breath as I huff down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I stumble and almost fall down the final flight, but somehow catch myself on the railing. I pick up speed as I sprint down to the dungeons, narrowly avoiding my startled peers.

I skid to a complete halt when I reach the classroom that I'm supposed to be in. I try to catch my breath to make it seem like I didn't just wake up ten minutes ago and sprint all of the way down here from Gryffindor Tower.

I take a few deep breaths before twisting the metal knob and pushing the large oak door open. The door creaks under my weight and literally everyone in the class turns to face me.

My face turns bright pink under all of the attention. Thankfully my tan skin tone disguises it a little.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Fields," my professor looks up at me from his desk. I furrow my eyebrows; he doesn't look too much older than I am. "I figured you might be running a little late."

"Right," I nod, flustered. "Sorry."

"Well, sadly, we already have separated into lab groups. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you'll have to be working alone all semester," he tells me with a smug smile on his face. Something also tells me that he isn't very sorry at all. He combs his brown hair back into place and gives me a 'golden-boy smile.'

"Ian—I mean—Professor Thomas," a sultry voice interrupts. I follow the voice, and try to contain my shock as my eyes fall upon Alison. "She can join my group."

"Really, Ali?" he looks just as dumbfounded as I feel.

"Well, of course," she says sweetly. Then she narrows her eyes and continues, "After all, you gave me the absolute _best_ lab partner. All I want to do is share him with the world."

She sounds like she's talking about something that she found on the bottom of her shoe. Her face wrinkles with disgust as she looks at the boy beside her. He looks more embarrassed than I am. He hides his face behind his hand for a moment and rubs his eyes. I smile softly when I see that he's wearing a leather jacket over his uniform. It contrasts perfectly with his kind, light blue eyes.

"Alison," Professor Thomas says warningly. "Don't. Not on the first day of school."

"Fine."

"Fields, you can join Alison and Toby," he tells me sternly. I swallow and head over to their desk tentatively. Since it's the first day of class, we're sitting in our lab groups at some old, wooden desks which seat two people. I have to squeeze next to Alison, making sure not to bump into her. She doesn't even move her things.

"Hi," the boy says in a small voice from the other side of her. "I'm Toby."

"I'm Emily," I give him a small smile, which he thankfully returns. I turn to face Alison, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"So let's just get this stupid assignment out of the way," she says instead. She flips her hair over her shoulder and avoids eye contact. I hate busy work, and that's all it seems that Professor Thomas has planned today. Just for us to answer questions at the end of a chapter that no one knew to read.

Toby gives me a look and I can't help but laugh a little.

"Is that funny to you?" Alison snaps, her voice firm and intimidating. She takes a step towards me and I get a whiff of her sweet perfume. It's definitely warm vanilla sugar.

"N-no," I stutter when I realize that I haven't answered, I've just been smelling her. I bite my bottom lip nervously.

"That's what I thought," she looks pleased.

The next hour drags by; only one more hour to go. Alison snapping at us got old after the first minute. Fortunately for me, she seems to like picking on Toby more. I found myself passing the time by trying to catch peeks of her when she wasn't looking. She looks down at her book for a moment, and I take another opportunity to study her. Toby excuses himself to go to the bathroom.

Alison chews the inside of her cheek, clearly contemplating something. Her pen taps against the one side of the book, mesmerizing me.

I hear someone clear their throat quietly and realize that she's staring back at me. There's a crease in her eyebrows and she's blinking slowly.

I frantically look down at my notes, my face flushing. In my panicked fluster, I end up knocking her school bag off of the desk with my flailing arms. My breath hitches and I stare down at the scattered stuff with wide eyes. I swear I'm hyperventilating.

"I-I'm so sorry. Oh my gosh, I am so s-sorry," I splutter, barely managing to find my voice.

She simply bends down, condenses the mess, and packs everything back into her backpack.

Alison stands up rather slowly, as if she was uncertain about something. I swallow the lump in my throat and wait for her to scream at me.

But she doesn't. She places her bag back on the desk as if nothing happened. I exhale the breath I had been accidentally holding.

She glances up at me for a moment, probably in response to my loud breathing. I nervously lick my lips, which have somehow become super chapped within the past two minutes. Her jaw is clenched, but she doesn't say anything.

There's an awkward tension between the two of us before Toby finally comes back, and I've never been more grateful for someone's presence.

Alison turns to look at me. I feel myself withering under her gaze.

"Did you get it?"

"W-what?"

The bell rings, and all of the other students scuttle out of the classroom. Professor Thomas looks annoyed that they didn't even try to conceal their dislike for the class.

"Did you understand?" she says, but this time she speaks slower. I nod in response, pretty sure I look like an absolute idiot.

She gives me something that is close to a smile, but not quite. At least her dimple shows, though. Whatever facial expression she did made my heart melt, though. I stand there, awkwardly, before someone claps me on the back.

"Ready to go, Emily?"

I spin around quickly so that I'm facing Hanna. I hadn't seen her in the class; I guess she was up at the front. Then again, I didn't really look at anyone other than Alison.

I look back to my desk and try to hide my disappointment when Alison isn't standing there anymore. I faintly see her retreating golden hair exiting the dungeons and heading to the next class.

I link arms with Hanna, trying to push the thoughts of Alison from my mind. I don't know why I keep staring at her or why I just want to get to know her. I have this insane craving to know everything about Alison DiLaurentis. Her favorite book, what she likes to do, how she likes her coffee, if she prefers white or brown rice… and the list of weird musings continues on and on.

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**hmm. interesting interaction, yez? i hope you guys enjoyed! sorry the chapters are kinda short atm. i'm trying to build up into the real action and drama! please review so i know what you guys think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**:) thanks for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews! you guys are awesome**

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Ch 4

I put the final touches on my letter and sign it with an xoxo. I smile to myself as I fold the letter up and put it in an envelope. I've only been here for less than a week, but my mom has already sent me at least six letters. I feel bad for leaving her all alone at home; I know it's getting hard for her without Dad or me there.

The clock tower goes off as soon as I step out of the Gryffindor common room—it's two in the morning. I stayed up late reading for my History of Magic class and then writing this letter. I seriously feel like I got run over by a train; I can barely move two steps without stumbling.

I decide to speed the process up by taking the stairs up to the North Tower two at a time. I hate how far of a walk it is to get to a damn owl to deliver a stupid letter.

I'm bounding the corner at the top of the stairs when I find myself slamming into something. At first, I think the door to the owl barn is closed, but then I hear a shriek and the other object hit the wooden door.

I collide against the cold stone floor, and I'm lucky that I don't start cascading down the stairs. I somehow catch myself against the wall and keep myself from breaking my neck.

"Ow," I groan, trying to pull myself up off of my ass with no avail. I clutch my elbow, which is no doubt bruised.

I look up at the person I crashed into. There, standing with her arms folded across her chest and all of her weight on one hip, is Alison. I can't breathe.

Wait a second. This is ridiculous. I'm totally _straight_. I've only had boyfriends in the short amount of time I've been dating. But, I know for sure that I've _never_ had a crush on a girl or even been remotely attracted to one. She clears her throat and I realize that she's been holding her hand down to help me up.

"You're kind of a klutz," she smirks, no doubt proud of herself at how flustered I am. She lowers her face and waits for me to respond, but all I can think about is my bruised body.

Also the fact that she looks hot as hell—wait, what?

"So I've heard," I rub my lower back and try to move past her in the doorway, but she blocks my path.

She frowns and holds her arm out to stop me.

"It's not really as fun to make fun of people if they don't respond," Alison tilts her head at me.

"Oh, uh," I stutter, trying to think of what to say. "I'm sorry?"

"Whatever," she snaps, her eyes narrowing with annoyance. She pushes past me, almost causing me to fall down the stairs again. "Next time, watch where you're going."

I stare after her, dumbfounded, as she makes her way down the stairs of the tower and out of my vision.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

After I got back from the owl barn, I lie in bed for hours. I had a pretty long day, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling tired. I can't get my mind off of Alison.

She's so frustrating. I don't understand her at all. She makes my heart beat three times the average pace, but that makes no sense. I've never had feelings for a girl before, and here I am, falling for some bitch that only cares about herself. She's so self-centered and rude; I can't believe what she said to Hanna the other day. And the way she treats people, especially Toby in Potions, makes me cringe. How can anyone be so heartless?

But at the same time, I still can't stop thinking about her. I'd be lying if I said I didn't admire her. There's something about her aura that just attracts me to her. I want to be around her at all times; I want to know everything about her. I find myself looking for her in the crowds and becoming disappointed when she's nowhere to be seen.

I guess it's okay to have a girl crush, right? That doesn't mean I'm like gay or anything, does it?

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**short chapter, but i wanted to show another emison interaction. new update will be like asap pretty much**


	5. Chapter 5

**sorry, i meant to upload this last night but totally fell asleep... my life. enjoy!**

**also, to address a question: toby is in gryffindor :) as i introduce more of the characters, i'll make like a list to chart which people are in which house so that it's easier for you guys**

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Ch 5

"Morning, Em," Hanna looks up from the magazine she's engrossed in. Spencer puts down the newspaper she's reading and smiles at me, and Aria raises her hand in recognition but doesn't take her nose out of the book she's reading.

"Hey guys," I take a seat next to her. From the other side of Hanna, I see some random kid with curly dark brown hair staring at me. I narrow my eyes a little, kind of perplexed. He makes eye contact with me and gives me a small wave.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Em," Hanna laughs and gestures towards the boy. "This is Lucas. I met him in the library a few days ago."

"Oh, please," Spencer scoffs. "You ran into him _outside_ of the library, trying to find the bathroom."

"Yes, but the library makes me sound more studentious," Hanna smiles, looking super proud of herself.

"Studious, Han. _Studious_," Spencer corrects her friend and rolls her eyes.

"Hey, Lucas," I cut their bickering off. "I'm Emily."

He gives me a small smile that reaches his eyes, and I can see a slight blush creeping onto his face. I quickly glance down at his robes to see what house he's in: Hufflepuff.

"What's everyone got going on today?" Aria finally comes up for air from her book. She closes it and slides it into her leather bag.

"Ew, Emily and I have that two hour Potions class," Hanna whines. She grabs a donut from the middle of the table and takes a large bite. The sound of high heels on marble floor echoes throughout the hall and shatter any conversation we were having.

"Whoa, Han," Alison's snide voice is heard before she's seen, "save some for the rest of us."

"Back off, Alison," Lucas pipes up. His voice cracks when he says her name.

"Aw, Hermy!" Alison coos. "You finally grew your balls. I'm so proud of you."

Her sarcasm makes me nauseous. Apparently it does that to the others, too, because no one speaks up again, and Hanna puts down her donut.

Alison winks at him and continues to pass by us without saying anything else. She flips her hair behind her shoulder, her bag swinging with every step she takes.

"I hate her so much," Spencer fumes. She looks at Lucas and Hanna with empathy.

"At least you aren't lab partners with her," I mumble, trying to sound disappointed.

I'm honestly not, though. I like the fact that I'm partnered up with her. I know that I should hate her for being so mean to my friends, but I just can't stop this attraction that I have to her. There's something about her femme fatale attitude that just draws me to her. I don't even think she knows she does it.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Aria touches my shoulder. She looks at me, eyes wide, with a horrified expression and shakes her head slowly.

"So," Spencer says, clearly trying to get the subject off of Alison. "Are any of you guys trying out for the house Quidditch teams?"

Hanna laughs and shakes her head, saying something about being about as athletic as a snail. Aria shrugs, and I don't blame her for not being sure. She's pretty petite, so she'd make an excellent Chaser, but Quidditch is an intense game. I've heard of people actually _dying_ during games.

"I'm actually already on the team," Lucas says. He bites into his piece of buttered toast. Hanna slaps his back, almost causing him to choke.

"Holy crap, seriously? You didn't tell me that," she exclaims. She looks at us excitedly while Lucas tries to get the toast out of his throat.

"Yeah," he says hoarsely, still distraught over almost choking to death. "I'm a Beater. I know that Alison is a Chaser for Slytherin, and our first match is against them in a couple weeks. I can't wait to bludgeon her with the… bludgers."

His face turns bright red again when he hesitates, but I barely notice. My ears perk up when he says Alison's name.

"Okay, cool," Spencer grins. "Congrats."

"What about you?" Aria speaks up from beside me.

"Oh, god no," Spencer laughs and shakes her hands out in front of her. "I'll just stick to the sideline, thanks. I may have been one kickass field hockey player in elementary school, but that game gets way too intense for me."

She takes a sip of coffee and places her mug back on the table. "What about you, Emily?"

"Huh?" I ask, a little startled. I had been staring off in the direction that Alison had strutted off in. "Oh, nah, I don't know. I haven't decided yet."

"I think you'd be good," Hanna says, but I only vaguely hear her.

Something else has already taken my attention away as my vision settles on the golden hair at the table behind us, a little ways down. She's sitting with her typical clique, Cece and Mona, and some dark haired pretty-boy who I don't recognize. She smiles at something that Mona has just said, but it seems fake.

I can see her bite her lip, despite how far away we are from each other. She glances around the Great Hall, eventually making eye contact with me.

I try to look away, but it's too late. She's noticed me staring and she cocks her head to the side.

Alison doesn't do what I expect, though. I wait for her to nudge Cece and point out that I was staring again, but she doesn't. She gives me a small nod and then turns back to chat aimlessly with her friends.

I continue to stare in her direction. I don't know what it was, but something seemed completely off with her. In that moment, she didn't seem like the 'Queen Bee Bitch' that everyone considered her to be. Her look was raw, so natural.

I can't get over how depressed she looked. There was such an emptiness in her expression; it made me wonder if anyone has ever asked how she is.

Maybe I'd ask her today in Potions.

* * *

"Oh, good, you're here," Alison says as soon as I enter the classroom. She's sitting in the middle part of the lab table again. "And on time, too. Look at you go."

My eye twitches in annoyance. Her eyes don't give away anything, and all of the emptiness I thought I had seen in them a few hours ago has vanished without a trace.

I ignore her and take the seat that Toby had last week. Alison's stuff is sprawled all over where I sat last week, and I don't feel like knocking her stuff onto the ground and looking like a complete idiot again.

We sit in silence for a few moments. I want to say something to her, but I can't seem to locate my voice. Aside from her hand scrawling across a notebook, Alison sits completely still.

"Toby's sick," she tells me, not looking up from her writing. She flips the page and continues as if she never said anything.

"Oh, so it's just us? Great," I try to feign disappointment, but I think she can hear the hope in my voice, because she looks up at me with her eyebrows raised. I clear my throat, uncomfortable under her unreadable gaze.

She shrugs a little and then goes back to her writing. I lick my lips and try to think of something to say, but my mind draws a frustrating blank.

Alison licks her thumb to create friction to turn the parchment. It crinkles under her touch as she smoothly turns the page again.

"Do you always stare at people? Or am I just that lucky," they sound more like statements than questions. She places her pen down on her book and looks back up at me expectantly.

"What? Oh, uh," I say, a crease forming between my eyebrows. My throat starts to dry and my palms begin to get sweaty. I stare at the book in her hands to avoid eye contact.

"It's a diary," she turns her attention back to her book and picks up her pen.

"Oh," I shift a little in my seat. I swallow before answering her rhetorical questions, "I don't stare at everyone. You just look so sad all of the time, I was wondering if you're okay."

She claps her book shut, not even caring that she was in the middle of a sentence or that her pen is still lodged between the pages. She glares at me and takes a deep breath, sighing loudly.

"I don't need a therapist," she tells me through gritted teeth. "I need an A in this class."

"Okay," I shrug, kind of confused by her outburst. I look at her strangely and then pull out my cell phone **(A/N: I know, they don't have cell phones in Harry Potter…. But I'm taking creative freedom because I don't see how these girls can live without cell phones).**

I check for new messages, and frown when I see that an unknown number has texted me.

_Hey Emily, it's Lucas. So, I know that you said you weren't sure about trying out for the Quidditch team, but I think you totally should. Gryffindor is in need of a Keeper, and you seem like you'd be perfect for that. If you ever wanted to practice, I totally wouldn't mind. And I can get some friends to help, too._

_-Lucas_

I find myself smiling to my phone. That's so nice of him to offer to help me, and I'm glad that somehow he knew that I actually _was_ hoping to try out for the team. I'm not sure why, but I think that it would be super fun, even though it's dangerous. Plus I could make a lot of cool friends; I just love the comradery of teamwork.

"Oh, is it a boy?" Alison says, shaking me from my thoughts. She sounds bored, and she hasn't looked up from her book.

"Yeah," I answer, but then quickly correct myself, "but it's not like that. He's a friend of Hanna's."

"Oh, Hefty Hanna," Alison smirks and winks at me, finally gracing me with her gaze. "I didn't know she had friends."

My eye twitches again.

I stare at her with my jaw clenched. I really want to hate Alison, but for some reason I freaking can't. She's such a jerk to my friends, but no matter how much I try, I just can't stay away.

"Sorry," she says suddenly, and it was completely genuine. I almost choke on air, but she looks just as surprised that she said it as I am to have heard it. She just apologized?

"What?" I ask, unable to contain my surprise.

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

"Forget it," she brushes it off and looks up at Professor Thomas, who has just begun the lesson.

I don't know what possesses me to do it, but I pull out my notebook and rip off a corner of a page. Next, I take out a pen and jot down my number, signing my name at the end.

I take a deep breath and pass the crinkled note to Alison, whispering, "Just in case you ever _do_ need a therapist."

She looks at the paper strangely, but it isn't with disgust. She hesitantly takes the note out of my hands and shoves it into her wizarding robes without saying anything.

I bite my lip; at least she didn't throw it away. Maybe it's just hopeful thinking, but I could have sworn that I saw a ghost of a smile on her lips when she saw the note. Maybe Alison is just as intrigued with me as I am with her.

* * *

**ooh cool ali got da digits... hollaaaa. i'm so weird. well i hope you guys liked it! lemme know what you thought :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**:)**

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Ch 6

The only light is from the full moon above, but even that is covered by the clouds at times.

I take a deep breath and draw my knees close to my chest. I've been waiting here for ten minutes already, and even though it's only August, it's started to get cold. I involuntarily shiver a little.

I had been about to go to sleep when I got the text. It was from an unknown number, and it wasn't signed. I had a suspicion of who it was—or rather who I wanted it to be. All the text said was:

_Outside corridor by the lakehouse, bottom of the stairs—on the dock. 10 minutes._

So, of course, my dumb self automatically thinks it's Alison. For all I know, it could be someone who wants to kill me. I'm in the perfect place for a murder: right by a lake at the bottom of the steps, my feet could be skimming the black water if I had them outstretched. I'm so far away from the castle that even if I screamed, I don't think anyone would hear me.

Before my mind can wander off down such depressing trails, someone clears their throat from behind me. My heart freezes in my chest and I stop breathing for a second. Freaking out, I look over my shoulder. Thankfully, relief floods through my body when I see her figure.

Alison is at the top of the steps. She's wearing her winter uniform, the robes tightly around her. She takes the stairs down to me two at a time.

I want to make a witty remark about how she should never keep a girl waiting, but something in her face tells me that now isn't the right time. As she gets closer to me, the moon illuminates her face more.

Her makeup has been smudged all around her eyes and down her cheeks—clearly she's been not only crying, but bawling. Her lips are shaking and lack their normal vivacious lip gloss. Somehow, though, in all of this, she still manages to look absolutely beautiful. I lick my lips, anxious to know what hers taste like, and what they would feel like…

Wait, no. Stop, Emily.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly, and I shake my head of those thoughts. "I didn't know who else to talk to."

She wipes her eyes, managing to smear her makeup even more. I notice that her hair is still in perfect condition, though. It still has the typical slight, beautiful curl that flows past her shoulders.

"Well, my offer still stands," I say, surprising myself. I wasn't sure if my voice was going to work this time.

"I was hoping it would," she admits. She moves closer to me and takes a seat on the stairs beside me, facing me.

"So, what's up?" I ask casually. I'm a little nervous, I'll admit. Whatever is bothering her must be serious, since I don't think under any other circumstances would the queen of the school be this upset.

She sniffles and looks out past the water. She chews the inside of her cheek, clearly contemplating something.

"I come here whenever I want to be alone," Alison says, but she still sounds distant. She takes a deep breath and smiles bitterly at something in the distance. "I discovered it on my first night here."

"Yeah, it's, uh," I hesitate, searching for a word that won't insult her. "It's very secluded."

She finally looks back at me and nods. Her voice is soft as she whispers, "My grandmother and I are very close."

I'm so confused. But I give her a small smile, encouraging her to continue.

"She passed away the day after school started," Alison tries to clear her throat, but her voice cracks a few times anyways. Her face flushes and she looks out over the water again. "But she's been sick for a while."

"I'm so sorry," I say, and I genuinely mean it. I reach forward and place my hand on her forearm. She flinches at first, but then relaxes into my touch.

"It's been pretty difficult," she continues, hoarse.

"I can't even imagine."

She swallows thickly. When she looks back at me, her beautiful cerulean eyes are welling with tears.

"I'm sure she was a wonderful woman," I try to console her. I rub up and down on her forearm.

"She was," she agrees, her expression suddenly serious. "But it's not just that."

My hand stalls on her arm.

"She was my only friend," her voice is barely audible. "My only supporter."

I narrow my eyes and shake my head a few times.

"What about Cece and Mona?" I ask.

"You think that they're friends? Please," she scoffs. "I'd much rather be best friends with a bear who's looking for its first meal after a nice hibernation."

"Oh, that's very colorful," I joke, trying to make her smile. She doesn't, but her eyes soften.

Alison starts to become more distant; I'm not even sure if she's still with me. She lightly puts her hand on top of mine—the one I have on her arm—and holds onto it. Her eyes stare vaguely at something behind me. A hollow look envelops her face and overall demeanor.

"So, why are you friends with them, then?" I ask after a few moments, trying to get her back to reality.

"What?" her startled expression makes me think that she forgot I was with her. She looks down at her hand and quickly draws it away from mine

"I asked—" I begin, trying to ignore the fact that my hand craves her touch.

"Oh," she cuts me off. "It doesn't matter."

She stands up abruptly and looks around, attempting to wipe the smeared makeup off of her face.

"I have to go," she tells me, not making eye contact. "Thanks for your help."

"I didn't really do anything," I say, overcome with confusion. I follow her lead and slowly stand up.

"You listened, that's good enough," she assures me. "I gotta go."

And with a thumb's up and an awkward wave, she runs off up the stairs. My vision follows her retreating figure until she disappears completely within the night.

"So Emily was out _really_ late last night," Hanna gushes in the courtyard the next day. I shove her playfully, but blush when everyone turns to look at me. I sheepishly tuck some hair behind my ear.

Our typical group is all sitting together underneath the shade of a large tree. We're pretty close to the water, which makes me think of everything with Alison last night.

Today, though, Toby and Lucas have joined the four of us. Lucas normally hangs out with us, but Toby needed to borrow my lab notes from the Potions class he missed. I have to say, I really enjoy hanging out with all of them. It's truly amazing how much we all connect; I feel like I've known them forever. (Besides Aria, whom I _have_ known forever.)

"Oh?" Aria teases. "With a _boy_?"

"Well, duh, what else would it be?" Hanna rolls her eyes. It's so funny when she thinks that she's the smartest one here.

"Aw, Emily," Spencer pokes me and wiggles her eyebrows. "You've got a boyfriend!"

"Do we know him?" Lucas asks, smiling. Toby looks up from his notes and smiles at me without any teeth.

"Uhm," I laugh, feeling a little uncomfortable. I slump my shoulders, trying to seem smaller.

"Don't hide the dirty details!" Hanna exclaims.

"Actually, please do spare us that," Spencer begs. She looks at me with pleading eyes and I just laugh harder.

I bite my lip. I'm not sure if I want to tell them that I was hanging out with Alison. But then again, I can't think of some random boy I would be frolicking off at night to see.

Maybe I could say that I went for a nighttime swim? Is that weird?

"Hi, Emily."

I turn my head to see Alison walking by with Cece, Mona, and the pretty-boy (whose name I found out is Noel) in tow. The green and silver emblems on their robes sparkle in the sunlight.

"Hey, Alison," I say, trying to sound nonchalant. I clear my throat and widen my eyes at her. I've gone from completely calm to on edge in seconds.

"Hey, Toby," she smiles. "If you want notes that are easier to read, you can always borrow mine."

She winks at me to indicate that she's joking. I smile, but don't say a word. Toby does chuckle a little, which helps me loosen up a bit.

"Ew, Ali, are we done here?" Mona complains. Cece and Noel have already walked away, clearly bored.

"Just one second, Mona," Alison holds her hand up. She turns her attention to Hanna, smirking a little.

The hairs on my arms start to bristle as I wait for her to continue.

"I was just going to say," she turns back to Mona, "that you should totally take makeup tips from Hanna. _She_ knows how to do that cat-eye look you've been trying and failing to pull off for weeks."

Hanna's jaw drops. Did Alison really just refer to her as Hanna, and _not_ Hefty Hanna?

Mona blinks a few times and puts her hand on her chest. She takes a deep breath and attempts to recover.

"Oh," she scoffs, trying not to sound offended, "yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. We should totally get together sometime, Han."

'Han?' Spencer mouths to Aria and me. I try to bite back my laughter, as Hanna stares incredulously at the two girls. Alison flashes me a genuine smile that makes me thankful that I'm sitting, because if not my knees would have given out.

"Come along, Mona," Alison sounds bored. She snaps her fingers over her head and indicates for Mona to follow. I'm strangely reminded of a person calling their dog.

She struts off, Mona scrambling after her to catch up.

"What the hell was _that_?" Aria demands when they're out of earshot.

"Hanna, don't tell me that you're leaving us for Mona," Spencer jokes. Hanna rolls her eyes and shrugs. "We can't think of clever nicknames like she can."

"Don't look at me, I have no idea," she laughs.

I smile widely and look off in the direction that Alison and Mona walked off in. They've long since disappeared from vision.

My phone buzzes. I pull it out of my robes slowly, trying not to draw attention in case it's Alison.

My smile widens when I see that it is.

_You have a beautiful smile! Hope I can see that more._

_-Alison_

I clear my throat and try to ignore all of the butterflies in my stomach.

I'm not sure if this makes me gay or not, but I'm definitely falling head over heels for Alison DiLaurentis. It's about time that I accepted it.

* * *

**yay! i hope you guys like this :) it's sorta a filler but i wanted to show that alison is like trying to be nicer.**

**so, side note, have any of you ever watched simgm productions on youtube? oh my god they make me cry laughing. they do the BEST glee and pll skits. geez, just thinking about them makes me die... okay that's all.**

**well, lemme know what you think! follow me on twitter if ya want. same username**

**gotta go work on The Tavern Challenge! thanks for reading guys :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**hey everyone, sorry it's been like a week since i've updated. lots of personal issues going on, but we're all good now :) i'll be able to update a lot more frequently, like how i had been doing before this past week! thanks so much for all of your reviews. i'm having so much fun writing this story, and i'm glad you guys are enjoying it :)**

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Ch 7

A couple of weeks have gone by, and the weather is starting to get cooler. I've noticed that Alison is starting to wear a fur coat over her robes. To be honest, I notice everything about Alison. I notice when that when she's in a bad mood, she wears red lipstick, and when she's happy, it's light pink. Her blue eyes sparkle when she's in a good mood, but they dull down when she's thinking about something seriously. I love her smile more than anything—even if it's just a small one. I seriously feel my heart rate pick up whenever she directs on at me. Her genuine smile, which I've only seen on scarce occasions, is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I'm sad that I haven't really seen her very much, though. I mean, I've seen her a couple of times, but every time, she's been across the hall or courtyard. Of course, we always have a good time in Potions class. Also, Gryffindor and Slytherin have been paired together for flying lessons, and a couple of those have gone by. I still can't get over the fact that flying is taught by my old neighbor Garrett Reynolds. I know I'm supposed to call him 'Professor Reynolds,' but I just can't bring myself to do it. It's too weird…

Anyways, at our latest flying lesson, I stared at Alison so much that I almost fell off of my broom multiple times. Hanna and Toby thought it was hilarious, but it was actually pretty scary. She flew really close to me for a moment, and I swear she took all of the air around me with her as she flew away.

In Potions, she's even started being nicer to Toby. This past week, she complimented him on his new haircut. I really like seeing this nice side of Alison. I didn't know it was possible, but I've been starting to like her even _more_ these past couple of weeks. And that's _with_ barely seeing her… I can't imagine if I talked to her every single day.

"Emily, are you listening?" Hanna asks from beside me.

The brisk air around us nips at our faces, and Hanna burrows deeper into her robes. It's almost dusk, and Hanna and I are going for our nightly walk after dinner. We talk about the dumbest things, but for some reason it's always crucial that we tell each other every detail.

The thing I love most about my walks in the evening—besides talking to Hanna, of course—is the sky. It would be impossible to try and recreate the beauty of it in a picture. The colors that twist and swirl around each other can't be replicated. Different shades of purple, orange, pink, and red fuse together for an ideal sunset. Those are just the primary colors, too. There're all kinds of subtle colors that speckle throughout the sky. The scarce lavender that exists between the purple and pink reminds me of Alison for some reason.

"Emily!"

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus on what we were talking about.

"Honestly, no," I admit sheepishly.

She rolls her eyes and slaps my shoulder playfully. The cold air makes it sting more than it should.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _in love_," she wraps herself around my arm and giggles. My heart stills for a moment, but I try to brush it off.

"I'm not in love," I protest weakly, but I can tell she doesn't believe me. She just grips my arm even tighter.

"Come on, you can tell me! Is it the same boy you were out late with that one night?"

I furrow my eyebrows. Technically, it was the same person. Just not the same boy. She takes my silence as admission, though.

"Oh my god, it is!" she exclaims. "When can I meet him?"

I roll my eyes. She's too persistent sometimes.

"Half past never, Hanna," I respond, irritated.

"Fine," Hanna pouts. She seems to understand that I don't want to talk about it anymore, because she changes the subject. "So, you're meeting up with Lucas tomorrow at the Quidditch Pitch, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, he said he would help me get the basics down for being Keeper. I think he invited enough people to play an actual match."

"Cool, I think Spencer and I are going to come to watch you guys," she tells me, which makes me smile.

Honestly, I was super excited. Lucas had booked the Pitch for a group of us to go out and practice and just have fun. He did it a week in advance, because Saturdays are always the days that everyone wants on the Pitch, especially in the morning. I just hope that Garrett hasn't double-booked it again. Last time we tried to play, he booked us at the same time as Slytherin. So, needless to say, we didn't get to practice that day.

* * *

When my alarm goes off the next morning, I literally shoot out of bed. I'm so excited to finally get to play Quidditch that I barely slept at all. The dormitory is silent as the girls around me sleep peacefully, the mattresses of their four-poster beds rising and falling with every breath.

Hanna moves groggily in the bed next to mine. Within moments, she's stumbled out and is facing me. Her eyes are puffy from sleep and her face is red in a way that makes it look like she slept on it funny.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," I grin, pulling my robes out from the trunk at the foot of my bed. I throw them on quickly and turn to Hanna expectantly.

To my surprise, she has also just finished putting on her robes. She pulls her hair back, causing her eyebrows to stretch out a little bit. Without putting on any makeup, she leads the way out of the dormitory and into the common room.

"Hanna?" I question, following her.

"It's just like you, Lucas, Aria, Spencer, and Toby. I don't care what I look like," she snaps. She rubs her eyes with her knuckles and doesn't say another word.

I open the portrait door for us to get out, and she doesn't even say 'thank you.' We're completely silent as we make our way down the flights of stairs and down all seven floors. Hanna trips once, and I swear I saw her life flash before her eyes. She looked back at me immediately afterwards, eyes wide and hand clutching her chest. It sounds terrible, but I think I probably would've laughed if she had toppled down the stairs… it's not like Nurse Meredith wouldn't be able to fix any broken bones.

We're greeted with a wave of crisp, cool air as soon as we exit the castle. The ground is muddy from getting some rain last night, but it's not too terrible. I adjust my robes so that they cover my torso better, and we make our way through the mud towards the Pitch.

In the distance, I see a group of people standing around in front of the locker rooms. I tilt my head to the side; I didn't know that Lucas had invited this many people. Hanna breathes in sharply next to me, and I glance over at her curiously.

"It's Slytherin again," she says. Her face is expressionless as we approach the crowd.

Sure enough, their silver and green robes are visible within a few more steps. I clear my throat, not sure of what to do. As we get closer, I can see everyone that makes up this cluster. Aria and Spencer scuttle over to us as soon as we walk up.

Lucas stands in front with his arms across his chest, Toby on one side of him and some guy I don't know on the other.

"I thought it was just going to be you guys," Hanna hisses. "Who's the babe?"

Spencer rolls her eyes. "Caleb."

Before Hanna can respond, one of the Slytherin's says a snarky remark and I'm called back to the present. I scan the group and bite my lip.

On Slytherin's side, the only people I recognize are Noel, his brother Eric, Alison's friend Cece, and, of course, Alison herself. I have to remind myself to breathe as soon as I see her. She's also standing with her arms across her chest, all of her weight on one foot. Her red lipstick sparkles under the morning sun and she bites the inside of her cheeks, clearly annoyed. I can't tell if it's with her friends or with us, but I'm pretty sure I'm just being hopeful and it's definitely the latter. A few seconds later, though, she catches my eye and her eyes soften a tiny bit.

"Listen, Hermy," Cece snarls, "we don't care when you booked it. We're here, and we're going to play."

"I booked it!" Lucas responds, taking a step towards her.

Noel cuts him off with one quick stride, and I'm scared of what's going to happen next. In my mind, I can see Noel bringing his fist back and punching Lucas as hard as he can. I can see Nurse Meredith laughing and taking Noel's side because he's better looking and she's a shallow creep. I can see Alison high-five him, and just the thought of her doing that makes my stomach drop.

"I've got a better idea," Alison speaks up, her voice lazy. Everyone's attention turns to her, and she begins to pick her nails.

"Well?" the boy named Caleb demands when she doesn't continue.

"Why don't you guys practice on the North side of the Pitch, and we'll practice on the South," she suggests, finally looking up. She sighs in boredom and waits for everyone to agree with her.

It takes a couple moments, but none of her teammates question her. They nod in approval and stalk off.

My entire group stares, completely in shock, at the Slytherin's backs. Alison glances back at us, her hair blowing in the wind. She doesn't smile, but she raises her eyebrows, which is good enough for me.

* * *

"Alright," Lucas says when we're all warmed up and ready to play. "So, Emily, go ahead and get into position. Aria, you said you want to be a chaser, right? Okay, you and Caleb can practice that. Toby and I are already on our houses' teams, so we'll watch and critique you all."

Caleb nods and flies around in a circle, being sure to go past where Hanna and Spencer are watching. He gives a small wave to Hanna, who, even though she rolls her eyes in response, blushes a deep shade of red.

The next few hours are some of the best times of my life. Lucas and Toby joined in after about an hour, and they helped show Caleb and Aria some techniques to help them out in tryouts. Since Toby is actually a chaser, he moved a lot better than Lucas, a beater, did.

When I lie in bed that night, I think back to how the morning went. I snuggle further into the sheets and cuddle under the comforter for more warmth.

I managed to block every single shot on goal. I'm not sure how I did it, but I could just foresee which hoop they wanted to throw the quaffel into, and I immediately blocked its path.

A few times throughout the day, I would glance up the pitch towards where Alison was practicing. I only caught a couple glances of her, but she was genuinely smiling and laughing each time. Just seeing her look so happy made me smile to myself.

I'm totally beat from this morning, though. Tryouts are on Tuesday, so I figure that I have plenty of time to rest up and practice a little more. Just one day of being keeper isn't going to get me the spot on the team.

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**cool! hope you guys liked it. next chapter will prob be a short filler, but things are going to get even more interesting between em and ali pretty soon. the quidditch matchez are vital for their budding romance ;)**

**okay! well i hope you guys liked it! kemme know what you think! sorry again for the delay. smoochezzzz**

**ps. i'm also working on ch 2 of the tavern challenge, for anyone else who's reading that! i'll have it up asap! follow me on twitter for updates.. it's the same name: emisonisON**


	8. Chapter 8

**hey guys! sorry it's been so long. i've been slammed with lovely college schoolwork and even lovelier relationship problems... at least i still have emison, though ;)**

**enjoy this chapter and i PROMISE i will update sooner!**

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Ch 8

I roll my shoulders back and hop onto my broom, flying low enough so that my feet can graze the long grass beneath me. The sun is at its highest point in the sky, which helps warm up the chilly atmosphere.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for tryouts. I had gotten in a couple more practice sessions since Saturday, but that still didn't calm my nerves.

To add to my nerves, I'm pretty sure I saw Alison in the stands closest to where I would be playing keeper. It's strange that she would come to watch Gryffindor tryouts. There's an inkling of hope inside of me that maybe she came to watch _me_ play and wish me luck, but it's more probable that she's just spying for her team.

I scan the crowd again, looking for that beautiful golden hair. When I finally find her, she's looking right back at me. She smiles and gives me a thumb's up, which is really all the good luck that I need.

In what feels like seconds, it's my turn to try out. For tryouts, they have two of the people auditioning for the final spot of chaser each take five shots on goal, and the keeper has to defend it. It's a little tricky defending the three hoops—all different heights—but I think I can manage.

I take my position in front of the middle hoop and wait for the first chaser to come after me with the quaffle. She holds onto it by the protrusion between two indents in the ball and waits for me to give the signal that I'm ready.

I'm pretty sure that this girl's name is Paige, but I'm not entirely sure. The only reason why I even notice her is because she's always staring at me. I take one final glance at Alison before indicating to Paige that I'm ready. She's leaning against the railing for the stands and waiting expectantly.

Paige nods her head and flies towards me. I feel the adrenaline kick in as I block the first three shots easily. She bites her lip in frustration, and it looks like it's hard enough to draw blood.

She charges at me again, not waiting to see if I'm ready. I have to flip myself over on my broom to block it from going through the smallest hoop. The fifth one is even trickier, and I have to almost jump off of my broom so that I can bat it down and recover it. After the last throw, Paige stalks off on her broom, muttering something to herself.

There're loud cheers when people realize that I've defended every strike. I look up to see Alison beaming at me, but I can't let that distract me.

The next chaser is some girl named Sydney. Her tryout goes a lot faster, but I think it's just my perception of time. I really just want to get out of here and talk to Alison and see how she's doing.

The next few moments are a blur for me. My new teammates are clapping me on the back and giving me high-fives, and it takes all of my effort to slip away unnoticed and go towards where Alison was standing.

By the time I get there, though, she isn't there anymore. I wince, annoyed with myself that I couldn't get away in time to find her.

But, if luck is on my side today, I know exactly where she'll be.

* * *

"I thought I'd find you here," I say to the back of Alison's head. I see her shoulders tremble like she giggled a little, but she doesn't make any noise. She continues to stare at the setting sun in front of her. Without turning back to face me, she pats one of the stones beside her for me to join.

I approach her, trying not to make any noise as I descend the stairs and take a seat next to her on the dock.

She smiles at me when I reach her.

"You were incredible out there," she tells me. A hint of a blush lingers on her cheeks. "I'm almost scared to go against you in a couple weeks."

"Oh, please," I laugh and attempt to play off her compliment. "I've seen you practice, too, and let me tell you: the chasers I had going against me today were nothing compared to you."

"You flatter me," Alison says, but she sounds conflicted.

"How are you holding up?" I ask, subtly scooting closer towards her. Despite the dropping temperatures, being next to Alison keeps me warm. I can feel her body heat radiating through her robes, and it melts my heart.

"I'm alright," she shrugs. Her eyes glass over. "My birthday is Friday."

"Oh that's awesome," I exclaim. I want to hug her and blame it on the fact that I'm excited for her birthday, but I feel like that would be kind of weird.

She looks down at the water beneath our feet and skims the surface with the toe of her shoe.

"You don't seem excited, though," I say slowly, trying to figure her out. She shrugs again and finally looks at me.

"It's the first time my grandmother won't be with me for it," she admits sadly, turning her attention to the horizon, where the sun has just peacefully set. Pink and red flirt with the previous position of the sun. Alison toys with a string on her jeans and falls silent.

"Oh." I don't know what to say to her.

"But it's okay," she forces herself to smile, but I can see the sadness behind it. "It's just kind of weird to think about. Someone that you're so close to is there one day and gone the next."

"Yeah," I agree, prodding her to continue.

"You know, she used to give me the most beautiful snow globes every year as a present," Alison genuinely smiles to herself. "Every year, she would give me the same one that her grandmother gave her when she turned that age. It was an incredible cycle, and I'm sad to see it end."

Her voice cracks as she finishes her sentence. I hesitantly put my hand on her shoulder. She flinches slightly from the contact but then relaxes into my grip. I smile softly, thankful that she feels comfortable around me. We're silent for a few moments; the only sound exchanged between us is our steady breathing. Enough time passes for darkness to engulf both of us, the moon illuminating our figures.

"Well, happy early birthday," I break the silence between us. "Should I get you anything?"

Half of me is joking, but the other half is completely serious. I take my hand off of her shoulder and shove it into my pocket.

She laughs and glances at me. My cheeks heat up from her light gaze.

"No," she grins, and playfully shoulders me. I bite my lip and resist the urge to hug her. Our eyes lock in a content stare. Her cerulean eyes sparkle under the fresh moonlight, the light reflecting off of them with a perfect glint.

Strangely, I don't need to resist for very long, because she initiates the hug within moments. She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes. Her chest is flush against mine, and I hold my breath in hopes of steadying my frantic heart. She pulls away, her fingers lingering on the sleeve of my robes. She rubs the material between her fingers and smiles lightly at me.

"Thanks for always being there for me, Em," she tells me. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or not, but she sounds a little breathless.

"N-no problem," I force myself to say, cursing inwardly at my slight stutter. But whatever, I'm just grateful that my voice didn't crack.

"But, I've gotta go," she stands up and brushes imaginary dirt off of the back of her robes. "I have to write my mom a letter."

Her voice is hollow and she seems disappointed.

"You don't seem happy?" I ask, too curious to not say anything.

She shrugs and shakes her head.

"That's a story for another night," she winks at me. I shiver under her gaze, but pretend that it's just the crisp air around us.

She takes a deep breath and gives me a small wave.

"Night, Emily," she says before slowly turning away.

I love the way my name sounds as it rolls off of her tongue. Her voice is so soft; it feels like I'm cuddling in a silk blanket whenever she speaks.

"Night, Alison," I manage to quietly say to her retreating figure.

I sit in silence for a few more moments, transfixed in the beauty around me. I keep replaying the hug with Alison in my mind, and every time it feels more real than the time before. I gaze out towards the horizon, pausing my vision only to admire the moonlight reflecting off of the dark waters. It reminds me of Alison's eyes just a few minutes earlier.

Water has always been so inviting to me; I've always had a passion for swimming. There's something about the liquid stroking my skin that I just love. It feels like I'm weightless whenever I'm in the water, gliding forward gracefully.

It entrances me, and no matter how dangerous it could potentially be, I never hesitate to dive right in.

Maybe that's why I have been drawing more and more parallels between water and Alison lately.

* * *

**eh a little rushed, but i wanted to give you guys something! i REALLY hope you enjoyed it, and i can't wait to hear what you think! so just review or pm me, i love your feedback :)**

**thanks for being patient guys**


	9. Chapter 9

**as usual... sorry about the wait :(**

* * *

Ch 9

I bite down on my thumb nail, which is weird for me. I've never been a nail-biter, but recently I've just been so nervous. Aria raises her eyebrows at me from across the table, but I pretend that I don't notice.

I adjust myself in my seat and glance around the library. It's full of old, dusty books and study tables. The latter is where I'm currently at now, with Spencer, Hanna, and Aria. Lucas said he was going to meet us here about an hour ago, but he never showed. I think that Melissa probably kept him late in his Transfiguration class for some stupid reason like sneezing without permission.

I casually turn my head to the right so I can sneak a peek of Alison. She's sitting at one of the study tables diagonally in front of ours and a tiny bit over the right, facing me. Her usual posse of drones is with her: Cece, Mona, Noel, and Eric. The other two girls are laughing at something that Noel just said, but Alison doesn't seem amused. Even from my distance I can see her boredom. She sighs and props her elbow on the table so that she can lay her cheek against her fist. I fight the urge to smile as it causes her cheek to be smooshed up a little; she's so cute. I don't even try to stop myself from thinking these kinds of things about Alison anymore. I do have to stop when I obsess over the chance that she may feel the same way, though. Sometimes I get carried away and can't control my thoughts!

I wish I had someone to talk to about her; someone that I could trust with all of this torment. I wish I could talk to _her_ about her. But that's probably the worst idea in the world, so I push that thought from my mind.

I glance up at Aria, who is back to writing a note in one of her journals. A sinking feeling envelopes my stomach when I remember that I used to talk to Aria about all of my crushes and my nonexistent love-life while growing up, but I don't feel like I can trust her with this. It's not that I think that she'll judge me; I just think that she won't approve of the fact that it's Alison. And that's the part of my confession that I would absolutely have to tell; there's no point in getting something off of my chest if I'm only telling half of it.

My eyes flicker over to Hanna, sitting beside Aria. She files her nails, paying particular attention to her pinky. I suck my bottom lip in and bite lightly. I know that she has history with Alison, but I feel the closest with Hanna when it comes to dorky and embarrassing things. I always tell her when someone breaks into the bathroom stall I'm trying to pee in, or when I trip down the stairs, or when I run into one of the colossal poles that hold up the great hall. She tells me about her failed relationships and childhood horrors, and isn't afraid to pick something out of her teeth in front of me. She's even asked me to help a few times, which, surprisingly, wasn't weird. I feel like she would be the first to accept that I liked a girl, especially since she's so adamant about finding out about my love life. It's just the fact that it's Alison that I'm worried about.

Spencer is sitting on the right side of me. She's deeply engrossed in her History of Magic book, which makes me crinkle my nose in disgust. It's weird because she actually _likes_ learning about that. I shudder slightly and try to keep my mind on track.

Right. Potentially telling Spencer about my crush on Alison.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. Spencer isn't judgmental and she wouldn't like say anything to me, but I know that deep down she would feel kind of betrayed that I liked someone that was so mean to her previously.

I sigh and finally look back at Alison. She's chewing her lip and contemplating something. The others are smiling and laughing all around her, but there's no trace of joy in her expression. She scratches the hairline on her forehead and starts to pack up her things.

"Emily, I'm starting to see a trend here," Hanna's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Huh?"

Spencer snorts and Hanna rolls her eyes jokingly.

"I try to talk to you and you just zone out," she explains.

"That's what you get for trying to talk about starting a fan club for yourself," Spencer retorts. Aria smiles but doesn't look up from her writing.

In the distance, Alison stands up and slings her backpack over her shoulder. She gives her friends a tiny salute and pushes her chair in. I can see her wet eyes shining when she walks past our table in order to exit the library.

"Alison!" I call suddenly, cutting off Spencer and Hanna's squabble. I clap my hand over my mouth and stare at her with wide eyes. Alison looks back in my direction and exhales slowly, tilting her head to the side. She gives me a small, close-lipped smile and a slight nod before turning around.

I stand up clumsily, ready to follow her. Without even caring about organization, I stuff all of my books and notes messily into my backpack and slide it over my shoulders.

The girls look at me, surprised, but none say anything. My mouth goes dry as I take turns looking at each of them.

I swallow loudly, "I just—uh—I needed to borrow h-her notes. For Potions."

"O-okay," Spencer nods. She gives Hanna a weird look that I can't quite decipher, and this time the conversation has interested Aria enough that she's looking up at me, too. I grip the strap of my bag and force a smile at them.

"Bye," I wave awkwardly, before turning around and all but sprinting to the door. I don't even pay attention to the librarian who screams at me to stop running.

My shoes skid across the marble floor when I reach the hallway, the door clattering shut behind me. I scan the surrounding area quickly, noticing that the bathroom door down the hall has just closed with a loud thump. I take one final glance to my right before heading left towards the bathroom.

I'm not sure what I'm going to say or even if I'm going to say anything. I just wanted to see if she's okay. Is that weird? Oh my god, is she going to think that this is weird? My palms start sweating as I push the door open, its wood slick against my hand.

Straight in front of me, standing over one of the sinks, is Alison. Her hands grip the sides of the basin and her knuckles have gone almost white. She has her head hanging downward, her golden hair falling all around her face.

"A-Alison," I clear my throat. Her head snaps up quickly and she whirls around to face me; I try not to notice how she looks like she belongs in a shampoo commercial. Her expression is hard, but when she recognizes that it's just me, her tense demeanor melts and she relaxes her clenched jaw.

Just seeing her paralyzes me.

"You scared me," she says and turns back around to look into the sink; her voice is barely audible. She runs her fingers along the nozzles of the sink, lightly brushing the marble between them. She looks up at me through the mirror so that she doesn't have to turn around.

"S-sorry," I stammer. I could have sworn I saw her smile a little when she heard my nerves.

She turns around to face me and leans against the sink, her elbows propped on its edge.

"Are you okay?" I ask, shifting my weight between my feet. "You don't look too happy for someone who's celebrating their birthday."

I meant that last part as a joke, as some kind of ice breaker, but she doesn't seem to take it that way. She scowls and looks down at my feet. My heart starts picking up its pace and I feel myself starting to sweat all over.

"I was just—" I begin.

"I'm surprised you remembered," she says at the same time. Her icy blue eyes meet mine and she smiles through them. But then it turns bitter as she adds, "Everyone else forgot—again."

"Your friends?" I ask, unable to keep the judgment from my voice. I take a few more steps forward until I'm right in front of her. I swear, if I find out that she's talking specifically about Cece and Mona, I'm going to pick a fight with them.

She shrugs. "Among others."

"Your boyfriend?" I prod, unable to suppress my curiosity. I know it's not the time to impose on her personal life, but I just can't help it! I try not to look too eager as she watches me apprehensively.

"No."

Her voice is cryptic, almost challenging. But it isn't threatening.

I try to contain myself as my mind toys with the idea that she could possibly be flirting with me. Even the very thought makes goosebumps rise on my arms.

She takes a deep breath. "It's not what it seems like, though. I'm not disappointed because I'm not getting presents or whatever. I'm just kinda bummed because it makes me realize that… that the people I thought were my friends _aren't_. That everything I've been raised to become—every standard, every stereotype, every moral—has all been a lie. If I'm not even important enough for them to remember my birthday, then clearly I'm not that important to them."

I open my mouth to speak, but she continues.

"And I mean, I wouldn't care if this was the first time!" she rants, her voice shaking with frustration. "But this is the third year in a row that Cece and Mona have 'forgotten.' I freaking reminded them on Monday. And my parents are just psycho and have their own issues, so I'm not too surprised that they forgot for the _fifth_ year in a row. My grandma was always the _only one _who always remembered my birthday. I didn't even care that she got me anything; the fact that she remembered was enough."

"October 5th," I say, somehow finding my voice. "I didn't forget. And I won't forget. I promise."

"Emily," she whispers.

I stand silently under her gaze for a few moments. Her eyebrows are knitted and she bites her lip as if contemplating saying something more. I clear my throat and take a deep, relaxing breath. As nervous as I am, I actually feel at home right now. Even though my heart is always pounding, I'm the most comfortable whenever I'm around her. I want to tell her everything about myself and have her do the same for me. I want to be responsible for her smiles and laughter, and be the one she trusts to fight away any tears or insecurities.

"I, uh, I got you something," I tell her finally, unable to suppress the smile. I slide my backpack off of my shoulder and place it on the ground in between us, zipping it open. I carefully rummage through my unorganized things and find the box I'm looking for at the absolute bottom.

"Emily," she says softly, "you didn't have to do that."

I blush when she says my name, thankful that she can't see my face. The sound of her voice rings beautifully in my ears.

I grip the long box and pull it out carefully. She watches my every movement as I hop up off of one knee so I can stand up straight and hold the box out to her.

"Aw, you wrapped it and everything," she puts her hand on her heart and smiles so that her dimple shows. I have to consciously keep my legs from turning to jelly.

Her smile fades a little as she rips the paper off of it and tosses it carelessly to the side.

Her eyes widen as soaks in the beautiful quill I bought for her. She puts her free hand over her mouth, but her cheeks still flush.

"This," she says, her voice muffled from her hand, "is the most beautiful quill I've ever seen."

"I just figured, you know," I mumble, "since you have a diary and you seem like you like writing…"

"Emily," she looks up at me, her eyes sparkling, "this is so perfect. Oh my gosh, thank you!"

She takes a step forward in order to hug me, making sure to wrap her arms around my neck, but I can't move my face in time. Our lips collide messily, and the box in her hands lightly bumps my shoulder blade.

Maybe I should have bobbed and she should have weaved, or maybe I should have weaved and she should have bobbed?

I don't know. All I know is that her lips are on mine and she hasn't pulled away yet.

A thousand thoughts are running through my mind. How did this happen? _What_ just happened? Is she going to break the kiss? Should I deepen it? Oh my god, I've never kissed anyone before. I know I said I had boyfriends in the past, but they were like in fourth grade. Does that even count?

Oh my god I can feel her lip gloss being transferred onto my lips.

Alison is the first one to pull away, but she does so lightly, and without breaking the hug. She runs her fingers tentatively through my hair, and I swear my heart has stopped beating. My gaze flickers between her eyes and her lips, but I know that it's lingering on her lips.

I decide that I'll be the first to initiate it again, and I lean forward. I hear her gasp slightly and lick her lips to moisten her lip gloss.

Our lips meet again, this time in less awkward and more synchronized fashion. It's still a light, chaste kiss, but it's more than I've ever dreamed of.

She is the first to pull away again, her face beet red. She clears her throat and breaks the hug so that she can smooth her uniform down.

Alison makes eye contact with me, and opens her mouth to say something, but clamps it shut almost immediately, nodding instead. She raises a hand to try and emphasize a nonexistent point, but instead curls it into a fist and covers her mouth. Finally, she touches her lips, and I can tell that she dazes out for a moment.

But all too soon, she's back in reality. She clears her throat awkwardly and breathes in deeply through her nose.

Without any words, she raises her hand up—the one that was against her mouth— and I can't help but stare at it. Is she really trying to high-five me right now? I awkwardly high-five her, but before I can even register it, she's holding onto my hand.

"I wanted to tell you," she says, her voice sounding strange, "that you have v-very soft lips. I, uh, bye."

She squeezes my hand once and then lets go. I open my mouth to answer her, but she's already brushed past me, quickly leaving the bathroom. I gaze after her, my jaw dropped. The door thuds shut behind her, and I can't help but laugh a little.

I know it's Alison's birthday, but it feels like it's mine. I just got the present I've been wanting all school year.

* * *

**well that was awkward... lolz. hope you guys enjoyed. TC should be up within the next couple of days! sorry about the wait... :(**

**lemme know what you think! PM, review, DM on twitter, whatever makes you most comfortable! twitter name is the same as my username on here!**

**ps. **i'm thinking about writing this chapter in Alison's pov next, but i haven't decided... what do you guys think?****


	10. Ali's POV

**so here's Ali's pov on the kiss! next chapter is coming up soon :)**

* * *

It gets harder and harder to resist rolling my eyes whenever Mona talks. She's getting on my last nerve, and I just can't. I sigh and try to tune into the conversation that Noel is basically having with himself. Eric is too captivated with his appearance in a handheld mirror to be paying attention, and Cece and Mona are just drooling over him.

I seriously don't see what everyone sees in Noel. I think he's so gross. He's cute, but not like to die for. I'm the only one who doesn't seem to be under the spell of his charm.

I tap my fingernails on the table and breathe deeply a few times to calm myself down. My eyes twitch as Mona emits a high-pitched laugh that sounds more like a baby bird dying than anything.

Maybe I'm just bitter because these bitches forgot my birthday _again_. It's seriously not that hard. It's October 5. That's it. There's nothing difficult about it. Besides, I remember all of their birthdays. No matter how many times I tell myself leading up to those days that I'm going to pretend forget them, I always break down on the very last day and decide against it.

I roll my eyes and look around the library.

It doesn't take long for my vision to settle in on Emily. She's sitting at a table a couple ahead of me and diagonally to my right. I smile to myself a little when I see her burst out laughing at something Spencer just said.

I wish I could have Emily's friends. Not like specifically them, but people like them. People who know everything about you and don't judge. They know your strengths, of course, but also your weaknesses. It wouldn't matter if you were scared of the dark, or that you snore louder than a troll, or that the only reason you passed Spanish wasn't because of a lucky scrunchie, it was because you gave Professor Montoya a lapdance after the final **(A/N: I tried so hard, but I couldn't resist putting that ****_Legally _****_Blonde_**** reference in there)**.

Bottom line is, they know your deepest secrets and still care about you. The only person in my life who has ever been like that was my grandma. I always knew that the way I was really supposed to act was the way she did; I was right in looking up to her. All of the other people in my life have always been toxic, even my parents. They raised me with a specific credo: to be the best and eliminate the rest. Somehow when they were trying to shove that idea down my throat, I never took my eye off of the bigger picture. I knew there was more to life than just getting what you wanted and putting other people down; my grandma was proof of that.

One of the things that scared me the most after my grandma passed away was that I wouldn't have anyone to look to as a role model. What if I actually did succumb to the pressures around me? What if I did become a bad person? I mean, I know I pretend to be, but that's honestly not me.

The real me is when I'm with Emily. There's something about her that I just connect with. I knew from the moment I saw her outside of the Great Hall. But there was so much pressure on me to be sorted into the 'right house,' so I brushed her off.

The truth is, I think I'm supposed to be a Gryffindor. I had a conversation with the Sorting Hat before he was ever put on my head; it happened when he was just sitting lifelessly on the stool. I guess I would call it more of a prayer; I prayed that he would put me into Slytherin. My parents would _kill_ me if I ended up anywhere else. I just kept repeating it over and over again in my mind. When it was my turn to get sorted, he screamed out "Slytherin" as soon as he made contact with my hair, but he said something different in my mind.

"You'd be more at home with crimson and gold."

So, I mean, the obvious assumption for me is to think Gryffindor, but I might just be reading too much into it. In fact, he may not have even said that to me; I could've just been making it up.

But why would I do that?

Oh, that's right. Because I relate so much more to Emily and Hanna than I ever could to Mona and Cece. I see them laughing all of the time, but I never have to worry if it's about me. I'm always on my toes around Mona and Cece; I never know what they're going to do or when they might want to overthrow the Queen Bee. I don't think that's true friendship.

I don't think I'd ever have to worry about that with Emily, though. I feel like she would treat me like an equal and wouldn't try to sabotage my life or my happiness, which is what we've all been raised to do.

I sigh and close my books. Hanging out with these 'friends' is starting to get old. Mona keeps trying to impress me, but honestly it's just super annoying. We have nothing in common, and yet she keeps trying. She tries to be even crueler, and that just makes me feel worse about myself: that in order to _impress_ me, she has to tear other people down in a harsher way than before. What does that say about me?

I can't be here anymore. I don't want to deal with this; I need to just go down to my spot by the lake and think. I take my time putting my books and papers into my backpack; I don't want to reveal how I'm actually feeling to them. They wouldn't understand; they'd just make fun of me.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and rest my hands on the back of my chair.

"Where are you going?" Noel looks over at me.

"The bathroom," I answer quickly. I clear my throat, "And then probably back to the common room."

"Do you want company?" Cece asks me, furrowing her eyebrows a little.

"Nah, I'm good," I assure them. I give them a small smile and salute to them. At ease, troops.

I push my chair in and sniffle a little bit, wiping my nose. I move around the table to head towards the exit and I don't know how much longer I can hold these tears in. I didn't even know I was about to cry until I heard Cece's voice.

"Alison!" Emily calls from my right as I'm about to walk out the door. I turn to face her just in time to see her clap her hand over her mouth, her face turning bright red. Her friends all stare at her, clearly confused.

I don't think I can deal with this right now. It would only lead to me breaking down and probably doing something stupid.

I sigh, slowly this time, and give her a ghost of a smile. I nod my head and leave before she can say anything else. Biting down on my lip, I exit the library and look around frantically. I know that she's going to be looking for me soon, but I can't handle this right now. I just can't.

I spy the bathroom to my left a little ways away and just take off sprinting to it, ramming my shoulder into the door to open it. There're a few girls in there; I glare at them, indicating that they need to leave immediately. They scuttle out like ants.

The only sound in the bathroom is the faucet dripping from one of the many sinks. I approach the circle of sinks, all bordering a large pillar. The mirror reveals to me a broken, conflicted girl. I try to smile to my reflection, but it just makes me feel worse. I just look like someone dropped a bowling ball on my toes.

I hang my head and grip the sides of the sink until my knuckles turn white. I don't know how much longer I can handle this internal battle. I feel one of my knuckles crack from the strain of grasping the sink.

"A-Alison," someone says from behind me, causing me to jump. I hadn't even heard the door open. I whirl around to face the voice and immediately relax, seeing that it's just Emily. I may end up doing something stupid anyways, but it flatters me that she left her friends to come look for me to make sure I'm okay. That may be one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.

I try to ignore the pounding in my heart as I turn around to face the mirror again.

"You scared me," I say, which surprises me. The voice doesn't even sound like my own; if I hadn't seen my lips moving in the mirror, I wouldn't have believed that it was me talking. I glance up at her through the mirror because I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to look at her straight on. My fingers dance along the faucet knobs so that my hands are busy.

"S-sorry," she stammers. I try to fight back a smile because she's so obviously nervous.

But that's stupid, Alison. She's not nervous for _that_ reason, she's just nervous because you guys are good friends and she doesn't want to upset you. You're a girl, she's a girl. She probably wouldn't even think about the possibility of us being together… like that. I swallow; it'll just be a girl crush for right now.

I take a deep breath and try to inhale some courage before turning around and facing her. I lean against the sink, which digs into my butt bone a little, and rest my hands behind me on either side of my hips.

"Are you okay?" she asks me. I can still hear the nerves in her tone. "You don't look too happy for someone who's celebrating their birthday."

I grimace. So it is true; someone I just met this year knows me better than the people I've known my entire life. I clench my jaw and try to settle my anger. It's not Emily that I'm mad at.

It's not even Cece and Mona I'm mad at. It's my freaking parents. They pushed me into living this fake life. If it wasn't for them, I could be an openly good person instead of a total bitch.

"I was just—" she starts to say, but I accidentally speak at the same time.

"I'm surprised you remembered," I admit. I finally meet her eyes and all of the anger in me starts to dissolve. I don't understand what it is about her. She looks a little taken aback at my change in attitude, which makes me feel like it was unwanted. I decide to add bitterly, "Everyone else forgot—again."

"Your friends?" she asks, taking a few steps towards me. I get more nervous with every inch that closes the gap between us.

Honestly I wish it was just my friends, but my family forgot too.

I shrug, trying to play off the fact that I'm actually disappointed. "Among others."

"Your boyfriend?"

I narrow my eyes. What kind of question is that?

"No," is all I can think to say. I probably just sounded so weird; I barely recognized my own voice.

I try to ignore the thoughts flitting around in my mind that she asked because she didn't want me to have one; that she asked because she's interested.

The next thought that screams in my mind is that she probably thinks I'm the most selfish person ever. I need to figure out a way to explain to her that it's not the physical gifts that I'm upset about, it's the premise that I'm not important enough to the people close to me.

I take a deep breath and dive right in. "It's not what it seems like, though. I'm not disappointed because I'm not getting presents or whatever. I'm just kinda bummed because it makes me realize that… that the people I thought were my friends _aren't_. That everything I've been raised to become—every standard, every stereotype, every moral—has all been a lie. If I'm not even important enough for them to remember my birthday, then clearly I'm not that important to them."

I grimace because I know I've just opened the floodgates. I'm about to break down completely, and I'm trusting a girl that I met a couple months ago to put the pieces back together like some kind of stupid jigsaw puzzle. I can feel tears prickling in my eyes, but I try to ignore them.

"And I mean, I wouldn't care if this was the first time!" I continue, unable to stop myself. "But this is the third year in a row that Cece and Mona have 'forgotten.' I freaking reminded them on Monday. And my parents are just psycho and have their own issues, so I'm not too surprised that they forgot for the _fifth_ year in a row. My grandma was always the _only one _who always remembered my birthday. I didn't even care that she got me anything; the fact that she remembered was enough."

"October 5th," she says quietly. "I didn't forget. And I won't forget. I promise."

"Emily," I whisper. I bite my lip and think deeply about what's happening right now. I think that she's flirting with me, but I can't be too sure. It might just be hopefulness. She stands there, not moving, waiting for me to speak again. I open my mouth a few times but no sound comes out.

"I, uh, I got you something," she finally speaks, breaking the silence. A small smile wiggles its way onto her face and she starts to rummage through her backpack. I feel my heart rate picking up with every second that ticks by.

"Emily," I say, my voice soft, "you didn't have to do that."

Because she didn't. In fact, I kind of feel guilty that she did. I watch her carefully as she withdraws a long, slender box from her bag. She jumps up and holds the box out for me, and I can't help but smile. Her face is bright pink and she looks like she's holding her breath.

"Aw, you wrapped it and everything," I smile and put one of my hands on my heart. That's so thoughtful.

I don't even pretend to be polite as I rip the wrapping paper off and toss it behind me.

The hand that was on my heart earlier shoots up to cover my mouth. I try to say something, but the mere sight of this quill makes me breathless. If I thought the fact that she wrapped it was thoughtful, I don't know what that makes the actual gift.

"This," I shake my head, mouth still covered, "is the most beautiful quill I've ever seen."

And it is. It's a phoenix feather, bright with all of the colors of the rainbow and then some, mixed together in a perfect blend.

"I just figured, you know," Emily says so quietly that I have to lean a little closer to hear, "since you have a diary and you seem like you like writing…"

"Emily," I glance up at her. I don't even know what to say, no one has ever thought this much about a present for me. Except my grandma, but that was a different situation entirely. I beam and continue, "This is so perfect. Oh my gosh, thank you!"

I don't know what comes over me, but I need to do it.

I move forward to wrap my arms around her neck for a hug and "accidentally" lock lips with her. It's an awkward collision, but I can literally feel the sparks shooting off from her lips to mine. I very subtly move my lips against her; it feels so natural.

I don't want it to end. It can't end. My breath hitches in my throat and it takes all of my power not to deepen the kiss or push her against the wall or door; I don't want to freak her out.

Reluctantly, I pull away. My arms remain around her neck, leaving my fingers to comb through her soft, dark hair. They twirl the hair a little and linger at the ends.

I haven't stopped looking at her lips. I don't want to see what her entire facial expression is. What if she's horrified?

Before I can continue that train of thought, she leans forward and kisses me again. All of the blood rushes to my face and my heart goes into overdrive. Within moments, I pull away first again because I don't think I could handle her ending a kiss.

I clear my throat and unlatch my grip around her, taking a step back to casually smooth down my already perfect uniform. The box with the quill in it brushes lightly against my side. My eyes flicker up and meet hers, and I smile a little. I open my mouth to say something, _anything_, but I lost my voice.

She stares at me with a deer in headlights look, which makes me inwardly laugh. She blinks quickly a few times and furrows her eyebrows, but remains silent.

My mind finally thinks of something to say, and I raise my hand up to make a point, but I realize that my lips aren't moving. I'm just holding my hand out randomly. Trying to play it off, I ball it up into a fist and cover my mouth with my knuckles. She didn't notice that, right?

I've never felt this way about anyone before. But that begs the question, now what? What do I say? I can't be like, 'Oh, hey, thanks for letting me kiss you. By the way I really like you. Wanna go out?'

I shake the thoughts from my head and clear my throat awkwardly. I probably should just play this off, right? Ideas of what I can say race through my mind, but none stick except one.

Emily watches me expectantly, unconsciously increasing the pressure that's already beating down all around me.

I raise my hand up for a high five. She stares at me incredulously for a few moments, and I don't blame her. What the hell am I doing?

Snap out of it, Alison. She watches my hand for a few more moments before high fiving me, and I use that opportunity to close my fingers around hers. Just touching her sends electricity through my body.

"I wanted to tell you," I find myself saying, "that you have v-very soft lips. I, uh, bye."

What?

My eyes widen in horror. Who says that? I bite my lip and give her hand a small squeeze before dropping mine lifelessly by my side. I move past her quickly, hoping that she doesn't notice how much I'm blushing.

Oh my god, what the _hell_ just happened?

The bathroom door closes behind me and I shiver. I can't believe that just happened. I lean against the wall and play back the scene in my head.

I don't know what I was thinking when I kissed her.

Well I do, but I want to know what part of my mind agreed to let me do something that ridiculous. I knew that I was going to probably do something stupid, but not _that_ stupid. She probably thinks I'm such a freak!

And then I told her she had "soft lips." Who the hell says that? To top off everything—because the situation wasn't awkward enough already—I high-five her… High. Five. What is wrong with me? Why was that the only thing I could think of? I smack my forehead.

Oh my god, what has happened to me? I used to be so put together, but something about this damn girl just unravels me. Maybe it's just because I've never been able to be my complete self around anyone? Who knows. I guess my complete self likes Emily. A lot.

I take a deep breath until my lungs feel like they're about to burst. With a quick huff, I hurry off. I don't even know where I'm going, as long as I'm not here anymore. I don't think I can look at Emily again for a while.

* * *

**lolz a little bit of a twist there with the fact that it wasn't an accident ;)**

**hope you guys enjoyed! lemme know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 10

**ugh apologies for the long wait AGAIN. i'm in my final semester of college as well as writing two other books-one of which has a deadline for certain submissions, so i've been like crazy busy. but i'm going to try and focus on this and Tavern Challenge for the next couple weeks, just for you guys! :)**

**enjoy!**

* * *

Ch 10

"Ugh, son of a betch, it is _so cold_," Hanna pouts from beside me. She cuddles against my arm, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder.

I roll my eyes and lead her up the stairs and to our seats.

It's the first Quidditch match of the year: Hufflepuff versus Slytherin. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. This is the first time that I get to see Alison play in a match and I'm basically shaking with anxiety.

I haven't talked to her since the bathroom moment on her birthday. It's only Tuesday, so it hasn't been too many days, but I still feel kind of strange. She's texted me a few times to ask about homework help, but other than that she's acting completely normal.

I wonder if she's thought anything about the fact that we… kissed. Not just once, but _twice_. I shiver with pleasure when I remember the feeling of her lips against mine. Thankfully it's cold outside and Hanna doesn't notice my daydreaming.

I still can't shake the feeling of her lips on mine. Sure, the first kiss was super awkward, but what else is new. I just can't get over the fact that she didn't pull away immediately.

But part of me is a little worried. What if she only did that because she felt vulnerable? My soaring spirit starts to falter when I think about that small detail that she was really emotional and probably wasn't fully aware of what was happening.

After all, she was talking about being lonely and not having anyone there for her. Maybe that's all I was to her: a shoulder for her to cry on.

I sigh as Hanna and I reach our seats that Toby saved for us. Somehow he managed to score us front-row seats, and I'm not complaining. Quidditch matches, like dinnertime, is one of the times that we have to sit with our houses. Crimson and gold surrounds me, and, even though I'm still a little bummed about Alison, I do feel at home among my peers. I snuggle in between Toby and Hanna, causing them both to chuckle.

"Hey," Toby says, and does his cute smile without any teeth. Things would be so much easier if I could just like Toby—or any boy, really. Why does it have to be Alison?

My question is answered almost immediately as the players fly out of the locker room. My eyes immediately fall on her, golden hair blowing in the wind. I can see her breath in front of her because it's so chilly. I notice that it's steady, almost like she isn't too nervous. Cece hovers beside her, and they look like they're quietly discussing some kind of strategy. She uses her hands to gesture a few things and Alison nods to show that she's following.

Toby nudges my ribs with his elbow and gives me a questioning look. I shrug and pretend I don't know what he's talking about, but I know that he saw me staring intently at Alison.

I watch as she stretches her arms over her head and leans back over her broom. Her movements earn numerous catcalls from the Slytherin stands. I try to ignore the burning feeling of jealousy that stirs in my heart.

I hear Mona's shrill squeals of encouragement cut through the air, and Alison raises a hand in recognition to her. She blows her friends a kiss and my legs start to shake. I wish that she could be blowing that kiss to me.

Ugh, she's so cool.

But seeing this Alison kind of bothers me, to be honest. This isn't her, or at least not the one I know. This is the side of her that puts on a show and pretends to be a bitch. I can already tell by her posture and the way she's clenching her jaw. All of the air around her screams with superiority and class, and intimidating waves resonate from her body.

Garrett flies around the circle of players—a half circle of Slytherin connected to a half circle of Hufflepuff. He explains the rules to them, but he isn't wearing a microphone so none of us in the crowd can hear him.

When he thinks he's explained them enough, he releases the snitch and the bludgers, and holds on to the quaffle. He waits a few moments and then tosses it up in a 'tip-off' fashion; the chasers immediately go at it.

Lucas **(A/N: he's a beater on Hufflepuff's team, in case anyone forgot) **backs up a little and twirls his bat around in his hand, ready to direct a bludger towards the other team.

The quaffle falls into Hufflepuff's possession first, but not for long. Noel Kahn swings his bat at a bludger and it nails their chaser right in the stomach, causing them to drop the ball.

Alison swoops under the wounded player and gracefully catches the quaffle. She weaves her way through Hufflepuff's chasers and around the bludgers that the beaters have hit towards her. Seemingly unchallenged, she fakes the keeper out and scores ten points for her team as the quaffle goes through the middle hoop.

She steadies herself on her broom and prepares for the counterattack. Cece flies by her and claps her on the back, but Alison ignores all of the cheers. She narrows her eyes and begins to fly backwards, keeping her eye on the chaser who's holding the quaffle.

I feel Toby lean down close to my ear. His warm breath grazes my cheek.

"Watching a little intently, aren't you," he whispers, but it's not a question. I'm grateful that he's careful enough to make sure Hanna doesn't overhear. I look at him, eyes wide, because I know I've been caught. He smiles at me and shrugs, and I instantly relax. At least he's not judging me…

Maybe I can talk to Toby about liking Alison. He doesn't seem too bothered that it's her that I actually am crushing on, not some random guy.

A few hours go by, and Slytherin is up 150-30. Alison has scored eleven of the fifteen times, and assisted another two. Not that I'm paying that much attention to her.

A rush of excitement rumbles through the pitch as Jenna Marshall, the seeker from Slytherin, closes in on the snitch. All of the players on the field pause and watch as she reaches out and locks her fingers around the evasive golden ball. The Slytherin stands erupt with cheers and screams, deafening all of us around them.

On the field, Alison fist pumps and high fives the other chaser, whose name I don't know. Cece circles around and stops beside Alison, giving her a side hug.

I know there isn't like an MVP or anything for these games, but I would totally give it to Alison if there was.

I stand in a daze, staring straight at her. She smiles genuinely and it makes me smile. I wish she would look over here so that I could wave to her and say congrats or something, but she doesn't.

"Emily," Hanna says from my left. "What are you staring at?"

"Not what," Toby interjects, "but whom."

Horror rushes through my body and I widen my eyes at him. So much for him keeping it a secret.

"Okay, fine," Hanna brushes him off, "then who?"

Beads of sweat start to form on my forehead despite how cold it is outside, and my hands start to get clammy.

"Emily?" Toby waves his hand in front of my face.

My mouth goes dry as soon as I open my mouth to respond. The frigid, dry air around us just makes it worse.

"Come on, you can tell us," Hanna assures me, placing a cold hand on my arm. "Promise. We won't tell anyone."

"I—" I try, but can't bring myself to say it.

"Well can we guess?" Toby asks.

I furrow my eyebrows; I guess he didn't know exactly who I was staring at when he commented on it before.

"S-sure," I stammer. I try to swallow a few times before my throat finally lets me. After taking one last glance on the field, my demeanor noticeably deflates when I see that Alison isn't there anymore.

"So, is it Lucas?" Hanna asks, wiggling her eyebrows. I give her a weird look and shake my head. Why would she even ask that?

"Noel Kahn," Toby says firmly as if he knows that he's right.

I shake my head again.

"Didn't you say you grew up next door to Garrett or something?" Hanna asks. "Do you have some sort of crush on him?"

"Hell no," I stop her before she can continue.

"Oh my gosh," Hanna's eyes widen in realization. She looks up at Toby, who seems to have realized at the same time.

"It's Alison," he says with even more certainty than he had with Noel. My heart flutters as I wait for their reactions.

"I should've known," he shakes his head, but he's smiling. "You two are always so adorable in Potions class."

"What? How come I've never noticed the flirtations?" Hanna demands. She smacks me on the arm. "How come you didn't tell me?"

I open my mouth to speak, but can't find words.

"I should've known," Toby repeats. He looks out over the field and scans it slowly, probably looking for her.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Hanna continues. She glares at me and pouts. "I'm trustworthy!"

"And I can't believe you're upset about the fact that I didn't tell you, and not about the fact that it's Alison," I admit.

Hanna rolls her eyes and laughs. "Who cares? You can't help who you like."

Toby nods from beside her.

"So have you guys gone on like a date?" Hanna pries. She grabs my arm so that I can't escape. I look at Toby to save me, but he seems just as interested. I groan and break down.

"Okay, first of all," I say, "we're not like 'together' or whatever. I don't even think that she likes me like that."

I trail off as my mind drifts back to our kiss in the bathroom.

"But?" Toby notices.

"But," I sigh, "we've kissed."

"What?" Hanna squeals. She digs her nails into my arm, and they somehow slice through the winter coat I'm wearing.

"It was an accident!" I assure her. I try to retract her claws from my skin, but she has a death grip on me.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Well, the first one was," I blurt.

Hanna drops her hands by her side and gawks at me with her mouth wide open. Toby has a similar expression.

"And the second?" he finally breaks the silence.

"I kissed her," I mumble.

Hanna squeals again and I swear I'm going to need hearing aids before I turn twenty if this keeps happening. Toby just looks impressed and happy for me.

"So are you going to tell Spencer and Aria?"

"I don't know, Han," I answer honestly. "I mean, I didn't even really want to tell you guys."

They both look at each other and shrug, not offended in the slightest.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Hanna asks suddenly. "Let's go find Emily's lover!"

I sigh as Toby laughs, and Hanna grabs onto my hand to drag me down the stairs of the bleachers in search of Alison. My hand flails behind me as I attempt to grab ahold of Toby, but his hand finds mine with ease.

"Oh my god, there she is," Hanna announces, and I'm not sure if she could have been any louder, even if she had a megaphone or something. I slap her, but I don't think she got the hint.

Sure enough, her voice causes Alison to pause the conversation she was having and look over in our direction. She looks at Hanna strangely and her face pales when she sees me. Hanna waves frantically at her and beckons Alison to come over to us.

She sucks her lips in, looks back at the person she was having a conversation with, and just walks away while they're midsentence.

"Hey," she greets as she approaches us. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks everywhere except for me.

"You were incredible out there," Hanna gushes. "Wasn't she, Emily?"

"Go away, Hanna," I hiss through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine," she sings, "I can see where I'm not wanted! Come along, Toby."

She hooks her arm around Toby's and skips off, her hair bounding behind her and her coat billowing in the wind.

"What the hell was that?" Alison eyes me suspiciously.

"I don't know, she's crazy," I say quickly, but I don't think that she believes me. She stares in the direction that Hanna flounced off in.

"Right."

"So, uh, hi," I say awkwardly. I swallow and wait for her to look back at me. She does eventually, but it's very reluctant.

"Hey," she responds. The tone of her voice catches me off guard; she almost sounds annoyed.

"Ali!" Cece waves from the distance. "Are you coming? Celebration in the common room!"

Alison opens her mouth to speak, but I'm surprised when she addresses me instead of Cece.

"Am I?"

"Huh?" I furrow my eyebrows. Why is she asking me?

"Am I going with them?" she asks in a slow and condescending manner. I blink a few times; she narrows her eyes and lowers her chin a little, as if expecting a specific answer.

"I mean, yeah. Go celebrate," I say in an encouraging way. The way that she bristles from my response makes me think that she doesn't take it that way.

Alison takes a deep breath and raises her head back up. She rolls her eyes and clenches her jaw; I can see her temple twitching. Not only that, but I can almost _feel_ the anger radiating off of her.

Did I say something wrong?

Without another word, she turns her heel and stalks off. I gape after her, confused about what just happened.

* * *

**well that's awkward. emily is so clueless haahah. new chapter will be up later today! let me know what you guys thought :) also let me know if you have any suggestions for the story! i love hearing what you would like to happen and seeing how i can incorporate your ideas into what i'm writing**


	12. Chapter 11

**:)**

"I think Alison is still mad at me," I groan to Hanna as we make our way down to Potions.

"Well, duh," she scoffs. "She was like begging to hang out with you and you flat out rejected her."

"I didn't know that's what she was asking!" I say quickly, trying to defend myself.

I'm such an idiot. I had no idea that's what she was referring to. When I went back up to the Gryffindor common room, Hanna looked really surprised to see me. I asked her why, and she said she assumed that Alison and I would be 'celebrating her victory.' I'm not even sure what that means.

After I told Hanna what happened and how Alison stalked off, she burst out laughing. She kept telling me that I needed to apologize, but I wasn't even sure what I was supposed to be apologizing for. Hanna had to literally spell it out for me, and needless to say I felt terrible when I realized.

I've texted her six times with no reply. Well, five. The fifth one was Hanna, sending a winky face and something along the lines of 'Let me make it up to you.' So then I had to send the sixth one to apologize and explain that that was Hanna, who in return pouted and said I was no fun.

I was dreading going to Potions today. Part of me prayed that she would fake being sick, and the other part wondered why I hadn't just done that.

It feels like only a few seconds have passed by when we reach the door to the dungeons. I grimace as Hanna opens the door open for me. She has to literally shove me through the doorway.

"Stop," I hiss. I shake her off and try to maintain my dignity while I walk over to our lab table.

Sure enough, Alison already is sitting there. But this time, Toby is sitting in the middle, and Alison is on one of the ends. My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion; Alison always sits in the middle.

When I get to the table, Toby gives me an apologetic look as if it wasn't his idea. The very thought of that makes me feel sick. I wish I could just explain to Alison that it was a misunderstanding. How was I supposed to know that she wanted to hang out with me even after the kiss? I thought she would be weirded out.

"Alright class," Professor Thomas raises his voice so that everyone will stop talking. "The assignment is on the board. Get it done _perfectly_ before class ends or I'm giving you a failing grade. Good luck."

My shoulders deflate. How are we supposed to get this potion 'perfect' if Alison isn't even talking to me?

Toby's stool scrapes against the stone floor as he stands up and walks up to the board to copy down something. I swallow thickly because I'm pretty sure he did this on purpose to get me alone with Alison. I sneak a peek at her in my peripherals, but she's staring intently at the cauldron in front of us.

"Alison," I say quietly to test the waters. She turns and glares at me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" she arches an eyebrow and waits.

"I—"

What do I say?

"A-are you mad at me?"

"What, ignoring all of your texts didn't already assure you of that?" she snaps. I shrink away from her towering anger.

"I just—" I begin, but the look she gives me makes me shut my mouth almost immediately.

I bite my lip and try to think of a strategy. Why is she so mad? I seriously just don't understand her at all.

I look up and lock eyes with Hanna. She raises her eyebrows and nods at me to do something.

Taking a deep breath, I switch my stuff with Toby's so that I'm in the middle. I lean against the table with my elbow and try to get her attention.

"Ali," I say, "I'm sorry."

She rolls her eyes and looks at me. Her teeth grind and I notice her temple twitching, probably both from annoyance.

"Seriously," I insist, inadvertently putting my hand on her forearm. She stares down at it like it's a hot iron against her skin.

I glance around us; Toby is up at the desk asking Professor Thomas a question, and everyone else is engrossed with the assignment. I step closer to her until our bodies are almost completely touching.

"I didn't know what you were asking," I whisper.

She looks at me strangely and takes a step back. "What?"

"I was just saying you should go hang with your teammates," I tell her honestly. "I didn't mean to reject you or anything."

She's silent for a few moments, contemplating an answer.

But her demeanor changes in an instant and she shakes her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugs casually, but something in her tone of voice sounds off. "You didn't reject me; that's not why I'm mad."

I know she's saying these things, but for some reason I'm just not believing her.

"Then why are you mad?"

She wipes her eyes and inhales deeply.

"I'm not, just forget it," she tells me, and there's a look on her face saying not to mess with her.

"Alison—"

"I said—" she interrupts, her voice unusually loud. She seems to notice that because she clears her throat and tries again, "I said just forget it."

"O-okay," I stammer. "So are we okay?"

"Sure," she answers tersely.

I don't think I'll ever understand her.

* * *

I haven't been able to get my mind of off Alison since Potions on Wednesday. I've tried to text her, but she hasn't really responded, and the few times she does, it's only with one word answers. I think I liked it better when she was ignoring me, which is saying something.

"Earth to Emily," Spencer says, waving her hand in front of my face. I blink a few times and come back to reality.

Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have Herbology together every Friday, taught by the beautiful Wren Kingston. He's not really my type, but his English accent still makes me swoon. Spencer is like obsessed with him, which I find kind of weird.

Not as weird as what we're talking about with Aria, though.

"I can't believe you're dating our History of Magic professor," I shake my head, but make it obvious that I'm just messing around. Aria blushes and shrugs, not sure of how to answer.

"At least he _just_ graduated from school and he isn't like some middle-age creeper," Hanna adds.

"Hanna," Spencer shakes her head and gives Hanna her signature 'I can't believe you just said that' look. Aria and I chuckle, expecting a small 'fight' to arise from this exchange.

"I guess it's not as bad as Emily, though," Hanna laughs, and it takes me completely off guard. My smile vanishes in a split moment as Spencer and Aria exchange a confused glance.

"Hanna," I hiss. I can't believe she just said that.

Spencer looks at me expectantly and I open my mouth like a fish underwater. How am I going to cover _this_ up? I grimace and sigh; I guess I have to tell them now.

As I'm about to speak, the door to the greenhouse opens, the glass clattering and catching everyone's attention.

I bite my lip when I see that it's Alison that's stepping inside. She narrows her eyes for a moment and then lightly shrugs; I guess she didn't know there was a class going on. Without any more hesitation, she approaches Wren and leans over on his desk. He smiles when he sees her and rests his cheek on his hand.

They exchange a few words, and I'm pretty sure I see Wren blush. Anger and jealousy bubbles inside of me, and I'm not even sure why. I guess I just don't want anyone else flirting with Alison.

After a little bit more conversation, Wren stands up and lightly smacks his wooden desk with the palms of his hands. Alison smirks and watches him as he disappears to a back room. She leans casually against the desk and looks around the classroom.

Her face falls when she sees me sitting a little ways down, and she narrows her eyes even more. I bite my top lip and raise my hand to give her a small wave. I can see her scoff even from this distance, but she still waves her fingers a little in recognition. I'll take that as a victory.

We maintain eye contact for a few moments longer before Hanna elbows me in my ribs.

"Go talk to her," she presses, basically pushing me out of my chair and towards the front of the room. I almost fall at first, but I catch myself and smooth down my uniform, trying to act like that didn't happen.

Alison continues to watch me as if daring me to come closer.

Challenge accepted, here I come.

The only sound I can hear besides my breathing is my shoes against the tile floor.

I stop when I reach her; she crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows.

"Hey, Ali," I say. I silently pray that maybe for some reason she's gotten over whatever she was mad about.

Her mouth stretches into a thin line and she gives me a curt nod.

"Emily."

"I'm, uh, a little confused," I admit, lowering my voice and taking a step closer to her. She instinctively takes a step back. I suck my cheeks in with annoyance and try to ignore the rising feeling of anger that begins to flow through my bloodstream.

"Surprise, surprise," her voice drips with acidic sarcasm.

That's it. I'm done.

"Okay, what is your problem?" I demand. She blinks, looking shocked at my sudden change in attitude.

She opens her mouth to speak, but I don't give her the chance to.

"I've tried to apologize, I've tried to make whatever I did right and just be nice, but all you're doing is holding on to some stupid anger that I don't even deserve. It's seriously caddy of you, Alison, and I wouldn't expect that from you. Cece and Mona, yeah, but not you. I didn't even do anything to you." I'm shaking by the time I finish.

She gapes at me with her mouth slightly open, and I'm thankful when Wren comes out of the back room with a small vial. If he hadn't interrupted, who knows what Alison would have done in the heat of the moment?

"Here it is, Ali," he starts to say, but stops short when he sees me standing beside her. He clears his throat and hands her the vial without another word before scurrying off to 'help some students.'

"What is that?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

Alison glances around to make sure no one is listening, then takes a step forward. She places her hand lightly on my bicep and leans in close to my ear.

"I'm not mad at you," she whispers. "Cece and Mona know that we kissed."

I back away slightly so that I can see her face. I search her eyes for any kind of dishonesty, but come up short.

"I've just been keeping my distance," Alison tells me. "They're on my back about it."

"How could they know we kissed if you didn't tell them?" I ask suspiciously.

She takes a deep breath and sighs it out. "We weren't alone in the bathroom. There was someone else in there; I don't know who. But this potion is going to help me find out."

"Couldn't you have gotten that from Ian?" I ignore the formalities.

"I have a different one from him," she assures me. "In fact, you helped me make it."

I narrow my eyes at her, not understanding.

"That potion we made on Wednesday wasn't random; it was a favor for me," she glances behind me. "But I have to go."

"Wait, this answers nothing," I protest, grabbing onto her arm to stop her.

"I can explain later, hon," Alison says, putting her free hand on top of mine. She gives me a small smile and turns away from me, exiting the greenhouse without another word.

What the hell does she need potions for?

My mind reels as I make my way back to my seat. Hanna looks at me triumphantly, and I roll my eyes and nod at her to tell her that she's right. Spencer and Aria watch me apprehensively as I take my seat.

"What was that?" Aria raises her eyebrows at me; I sigh.

"Alison and I," I hesitate because I'm not even sure myself, "I guess that we have a thing. I don't know. We kissed on accident last week, but we haven't talked about it at all. Then she got mad at me for some stupid reason on Tuesday, but then I find out that it wasn't what I thought at all. Now I'm just super confused."

Spencer's jaw drops, but she doesn't say anything.

Aria frowns for a moment as she weighs a few things in her mind, but finally nods and smiles at me.

"If she makes you happy, then I'm happy," she grins. I sigh with relief and turn my attention to Spencer.

"Well, I'm with Aria," she finally says. "But I swear if she makes you cry I'm going to go all Hastings on her ass."

"Deal."

My phone buzzes from inside my robes. I pull it out and almost have a heart attack when I see that it's Alison.

**Alison: Hey ;)**

**Emily: Oh, now u can text me?**

**Emily: Jk. Hi**

**Alison: I changed your name to someone else's. I don't know why I didn't think of that before.**

**Emily: Guess ur just not as smart as me.**

**Alison: Watch the sass**

**Emily: :(**

**Alison: Want to meet at our spot later? There're a lot of things we should probably talk about**

**Emily: I can't imagine what u mean**

**Alison: Sass. Watch it.**

**Emily: Time?**

**Alison: 10pm.**

**Emily: That's so far away!**

**Alison: Sassy.**

**Emily: See you then ;)**

**Alison: Speaking of 'see,' that reminds me of my grade in Transfiguration. Can you bring your notes?**

**Emily: Cheater**

**Emily: jk I can do that**

**Alison: SASSY.**

**Alison: Aw, yay! Thanks boo**

I lock my phone and put it back into my robes pocket. I hadn't even realized how much I was smiling, but now I do because my cheeks hurt so bad.

Hanna raises her eyebrows.

"Was that Ali?" she teases.

I roll my eyes but can't suppress the blush. "Maybe."

I can't wait until 10pm so we can just get everything out in the open.

* * *

**yay! actually a quick update this time :) hope you guys enjoyed this! let me know what you think**


	13. Chapter 12

**hey everyone. sorry about the long wait AGAIN... i had two significant losses in my family and everything has just been crazy lately with visitations and ceremonies. but i'm back! and i wanted to say...**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**i hope you guys have an amazing holiday! i also hope you guys enjoy this chapter. i spent a lot of time on it trying to get it perfect for you all!**

**enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 12

I shiver involuntarily into my robes, thankful that I wore an extra coat tonight. The weather has gotten substantially colder, especially at night. I find myself acting like an eight-year-old, blowing air out in front of me just so that I can see my breath.

I roll my shoulders back and check the time on my phone: 10:05. It's unlike Alison to be late to something. Or, at least, it seems like it would be. To me, she just seems like the kind of person who's always on time no matter what.

"Emily," her voice warms the air around me. I turn around when I hear her voice, unable to keep the smug smile off of my face. She runs her fingers through her hair and bites her lip.

"You're late," I smirk. She rolls her eyes in response and walks down the stone steps until she's next to me. She doesn't sit down, though. Instead she leans against the railing behind her, her blue eyes sparkling under the crescent moon.

"I was busy," Alison retorts, but there's no malice in her voice. It wavers with playful annoyance.

I hold my hands up in mock surrender and pretend to shake with fear—really it's just because it's cold out. She rolls her eyes again.

Silence washes over us like a wave, causing me to shudder again. I pull my knees closer to my chest and wrap my outer coat around them. Alison watches my movements with an arched eyebrow and evident curiosity.

"So," I begin, becoming a little uncomfortable under her gaze. She shakes her head and snaps out of whatever daze she was in.

"Well, I found out all I wanted to know," she smiles and finally takes a seat, using the wall as a backrest. She leans against it, resting her head back, facing me. "And now everything is okay. We can go back to normal. Well, sort of. I guess normal is pretty different now."

"Okay," I nod, waiting for her to continue. She smirks and bites her lip.

I don't know exactly where she's going with this. I don't understand Alison at _all_. One day she's nice and is flirtatious, and the next she's cold and snaps at the smallest thing. Then, after that, she says that she's just acting, pretending to be angry. Well, damn, give this girl an Oscar for Best Actress; she really fooled me. I thought for sure that she was mad.

And what the hell is going on with those two potions?

"Paige McCullers," she tells me in a sing-song voice, as if it's supposed to mean something.

"Huh?"

"That's who was in the bathroom," Alison clarifies. She watches my response, probably to see if that name sparks some kind of reaction.

But it doesn't.

"Why would she care?" I ask.

"Oh, she hates me," Alison says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. She shrugs it off and smiles. "She'd do anything to ruin my reputation or to hurt me."

Who… does _anyone_ not hate her? Besides me, that is.

"Why would she hate you?"

"Ugh," Alison groans. She clearly didn't want to talk about it, but she continues anyways, "I used to give her a hard time in elementary school. But she was asking for it! She creeped me out. She was always staring at me."

I feel the heat rise in my face as I try to brush away the fact that I'm always staring at her, too. Alison cocks her head to the side and watches my face turn red.

"So you made fun of her?" I try to take the spotlight off of myself.

"Yeah," Alison nods. I wince a little because sometimes it doesn't seem like she understands what's wrong with the way she used to act.

I blink a few times and try to focus back on the significant details.

"So what does that have to do with anything?" I prod.

Her face tenses up, especially around her jawline and her temples. I can almost see the gears grinding in her head as she contemplates what to say next or how she wants to say it. I watch her expectantly, waiting.

"Cece and Mona have been planning to 'overthrow me' for a while, now," Alison begins. Disgust flashes across her face for a moment, but she swiftly recovers and resumes her sweet demeanor as if nothing happened.

"Oh," is all I can think of to say. I mean, I guess that doesn't surprise me in the least. The only surprising factor is that Alison is saying it out loud; anyone can tell that it's been on their minds for a while.

"I used that as an excuse to hide the way I've been feeling," Alison says, her lips thinning into a line.

"About?" I'm not sure exactly what she's referring to.

"This."

"What?" I shake my head; that didn't clarify anything.

"This," Alison repeats, using her right hand to gesture between the two of us, lingering on me each time. "Whatever 'this' is."

There's a this? Ugh, Alison is more confusing than Arithmetic.

"So," Alison continues, as if she can read my mind and see my confusion, "that's the real reason why I was being mean to you before. I tried to convince myself that it was because I didn't want to lose my social status, but it's not. It never was about that for me, really."

She sighs and looks out over the water into the dark abyss.

"Alison," I say, my voice strained slightly, "I'm not following. And it's not because I can't, it's because you aren't making any sense."

She furrows her eyebrows and then scoots closer to me until our knees are touching. My eyes flicker down to the contact.

"The whole time you and I have been friends, I've told myself that I'm tired of being something or someone that I'm not," she explains. "That's one of the many reasons that I love hanging out with you. I finally can look in the mirror and recognize the girl staring back at me; I am finally myself. I don't have to lie about anything; you accept me for me. I love the person I am whenever I'm around you, because I know that it's the real me. There aren't any masks or façades; it's so real."

She takes a deep breath and glances down at my hands, which lay motionless in my lap. Alison reaches out and lightly grasps my hands, intertwining her fingers with mine, and slightly smiles.

"But if I was to say that that was the main reason I was being harsh to you, it would be a total lie," she admits quietly, staring at our hands. My eyebrows knit together and I wait for her to continue.

"I was—am—scared," her voice is low.

"About?" I ask with the utmost care.

"This," she repeats, and looks up from our hands to makes eye contact. Her eyes convey something that I'm not sure that I've ever seen before.

"Oh?" I squeak.

"I tried to convince myself that this was a game," she says. "But it's not. I tried to pretend like I was leading you on and I honestly didn't care about you like that. I pretended you were just another pawn in my game of chess and I was going to throw you away as soon as I had used you all up. But I couldn't lie to myself. Especially not regarding you. Not when you're the one who has shed so much light on my life."

She goes silent for a moment, but I don't even think to fill it.

"You've been a lighthouse to my life," she smiles at me, and it reaches her eyes. "I feel like I'm a captain at sea, and my life is one huge storm right after the other, complete with monsoons and tidal waves. But then, when I see you, it's like a reminder that I'm almost to shore and almost to safety. And your light guides me the rest of the way until I'm home, and I'm where I'm supposed to be."

"Alison," I start.

"I'm so scared about the way I feel about you, Emily," she admits, breaking eye contact. I watch her, my heart pounding. I know that she can feel the sweat accumulating in my palms, but she doesn't say anything.

"I've tried to think of so many excuses and reasons why I shouldn't admit my feelings for you. I'd lose my popularity, my friends, my family," she begins to list, but trails off slightly. "But then I realized how much of a hypocrite I was being, since that was what you and I originally bonded on. I could be honest with you and tell you that I didn't even want any of those things. And then I realized I needed to be honest with myself, too."

I swallow as noiselessly as possible.

"I was being a total idiot," she chuckles a little. "I could get everything I want, but I was also afraid of that. What if I do get everything I want, but then I'm not satisfied?"

I open my mouth to speak, but don't.

"That's impossible, though," Alison says seriously. "As long as I have you in my life, I'll always be the happiest and most satisfied."

I want her to keep talking, but I don't know how to ask.

"So, to clarify the potions," she sniffs the air and raises her voice a little so that it's more confident. "The potion we made in Potions was a sleep spell. I gave it to Cece so that I could get Mona alone to talk to. When alone, I slipped Mona the potion that Wren gave me, by putting it in her tea. It was a truth serum, so I could ask her anything and everything I wanted, and she would have to tell the truth. Wren also added a dose of some potion that would make Mona obey one order that I gave her."

"Okay," I say slowly.

"So Mona admitted that it was Paige who narked," Alison says as a short summary. "And she also admitted the other plans that she and Cece had to take me down; whatever relationship you and I have is what they're going to use as their main fuel. And then I gave her the order, and I headed down here to see you."

"What did you say?"

"I told her to do it."

My eyes widen.

"It's what I want, isn't it?" she tilts her head to the side. "Why make it more complicated than it needs to be? This is my way out! I shouldn't back out because I'm scared of the way I feel. I need to accept the gift that life is giving me and just run with it."

I try to speak but am at a loss for words.

"I'm taking a risk, Em," Alison breathes out. "But it's totally worth it. There's this one quote that my grandmother used to tell me all of the time whenever we would talk about what true love really was. She said: 'Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to.' It's all about taking risks, Emily. And you're worth that risk for me."

I can't fight the smile that makes its way onto my face. I nod a few times, but can't find the words to describe how I'm feeling.

"So, here you go," Alison smiles. She searches the pockets of her robes and pulls out a small, wrapped box, no bigger than her hand. "Merry Christmas."

"It's November," I correct her, eyes on the box. She hands it to me without another word.

"Wouldn't matter if it was March," she shrugs. "I'm still giving you the same ability by giving you my heart."

I nod wordlessly.

I open it carefully, pulling the wrapping paper off with ease. I lift the top of the box off and furrow my eyebrows. Inside is what looks like a mini sketch book, the size of a sticky note. I glance up at her only to see that one of her eyebrow is quirked and she's biting her bottom lip.

"Go on," she encourages me.

I open the sketchbook up to the first page. It's an ink drawing of Alison, sitting among a few other people in what looks to be the library. I glance up at her and she nods her head to continue.

I flip the page, and the picture is altered slightly. After a few more page turns, I realize that it's one of those moving picture books where if you flip through it quickly, it makes it look almost like an animation.

So I do. I flip through until Alison has walked out of the library, and the Emily in the drawings is following her. I flip through until the two girls are in the bathroom, facing each other. As each page turns, they get closer and closer until they're finally touching by means of a kiss.

I glance up at Alison, who watches me with a small smile on her lips.

"I drew those using the pen you gave me," she tells me.

"I didn't know you could draw," I say as I flip through the book again, admiring each picture.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Alison answers, and I can't help but look back up at her. She stands up and holds her hand out for me to help me up. "Do you want to find out what they are?"

"I'd be an absolute idiot not to," I respond, accepting her hand. She pulls me onto my feet, but doesn't let go of my hand even when we're both standing.

She starts to pull me in the direction of up the stairs, but I stop dead in my tracks. When she notices I'm not moving, she looks back at me with a confused expression.

"Thanks, Alison," I say. "For the book and for being honest. But, if I'm being honest, too, you don't need to worry about any 'destruction' or whatever."

A slight blush invades her cheeks.

"I know. You don't, either," she smiles. "Come on."

I grin and step up until I'm on the same stair that she's on. We don't release our hands, but I do let her lead me blindly.

* * *

**yay! so alison is giving up her old life so that she can start a new, honest one with emily. hollaaaa how romantic :)**

**let me know what you think! review, pm, or tweet me! same username as on here :)**


	14. Chapter 13

Ch 13

"EMILY!"

I jump so badly that I fall out of my bed. My butt collides with the floor, and I can feel the instant bruising occurring.

"What the hell Hanna?" I snap, massaging my bruised tailbone and dignity. She kneels down beside me and tilts her head to the side, smiling.

"You got in _so late_ last night," she sings. I narrow my eyes at her and shake my head.

"When did you become my mother?"

"A long time ago," she deadpans. Nothing she says ever makes sense. "Anyways, you told me that you would tell me all about your date in the morning! And it's morning! So time to spill."

"Hanna, it's freaking 6:30am," I groan. She shrugs and stands up, extending her hand to help me up. I glance around the dormitory. "Where the hell is everyone?"

"They're at breakfast," she says simply. She watches me for a few moments before her eyes widen. "You know you have a Quidditch match in like an hour, right?"

"What?!"

I jump past her and sprint to the chest with all of my clothes in it. I rummage through, messily tossing random articles of clothing behind me. Finally, I find my uniform and pull it out of the chest.

"Em, what's this?" Hanna asks from somewhere to my right. I look up and my heart stops beating. She's holding out the sketchbook that Alison drew in for me.

"O-oh t-that? Please don't—" but it's too late. She opens it, and flips through the book. Her smile widens with every page that turns.

"This is the cutest thing ever," Hanna squeals. "Did Alison make this for you?"

I don't even have to answer. Hanna bounds towards me and envelopes me in a bone-crushing bear hug.

"I hope this doesn't mean that you're going to take it easy on her today, though," Hanna looks at me seriously when she finally releases her death grip. She places the sketchbook down very gently on top of my pillow.

"What?"

"Did she like erase your memory? What is wrong with you?" Hanna looks at me weirdly. "The match is against Slytherin today."

The top of the chest slams shut, the sound echoing through the room. I stare at it for a second; how the hell could I have forgotten?

I guess with all of the things going on around me with Alison, I haven't even had a second to think about anything else. I swallow painfully, and weakly shake my head.

I haven't even really practiced in weeks. Hanna watches me carefully as I slide off my pjs and put on my uniform. My phone buzzes from my bedside table, distracting Hanna.

"It's Alison," she says, but she doesn't sound disappointed. "Do you want me to answer for you? Oh, nevermind."

"What did she say?" I question, finally breaking my gaze with the floor and looking over at her.

Hanna clears her throat but remains silent. I furrow my eyebrows, but she still doesn't read it out loud. She hands the phone over to me.

**Alison: Hey Em! Thanks so much for an awesome time last night. I can't wait to talk about it even more after the match today... I just wanted to warn you, though. I'm sure you can tell already, but it's really gross out. It's pouring. I've never seen so much lightning in my life. Please be careful, hon.**

**Alison: Sorry I had to send that prematurely. Cece walked into the locker room. Anyways, the storm isn't all that you need to be careful of. I overheard Noel and Cece in a conversation… I think that instead of hitting the bludgers at chasers, Noel is going to be aiming for you. It would kill me if you got hurt at all, so please just be careful and keep your eyes open for him. Well, that's all I wanted to tell you. Good luck today, Em. May the best girl win ;) xoxo**

I lock my phone and slide it into my robes pocket. I probably should answer it, but I don't even know what I would say. How do I defend the quaffle from going into the hoops _and_ defend myself from Noel?

Hanna seems to notice my confliction, because she puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I know that you'll be fine," she tells me. "And you're going to kick Slytherin's ass. Alison said 'may the best girl win,' and we both know that's you. So go on out there and kick ass."

I smile weakly and pull my phone out to send Alison a text.

**Emily: Hey Ali. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be careful, but only if you promise you will be too. Good luck today! Xoxo**

* * *

Alison wasn't kidding about the storm. The wind is so bad that it's whipping me around on my broom. I have to consciously force myself to stay in the same place and not get blown away.

The match started about five minutes ago, and so far no one has scored. I defended a well-thrown shot from Cece, but I was able to somehow chase it down and toss it over to Paige. She dropped it almost immediately trying to avoid a bludger, but thankfully Toby swooped down under her and maintained possession.

That's all of the excitement that's happened so far. The icy rain pelts my face, stinging my cheeks with its freezing liquid. I breathe out and can see my breath envelop all of the surrounding air. I shiver a little, trying to shake off some of the dampness from my uniform.

The rain makes it nearly impossible to see. Even though it's daytime, the entire sky is black. The rain falls down like a curtain, altering all perceptions. No one has been very accurate this game because of the weather.

The quaffle is on the other side of the pitch when I hear the first ding, indicating that we have scored. Normally, the announcer goes over the intercom and says who scored the shot, but I don't even think that they could see who did it.

I haven't seen Alison too much since the game started. I think that she's probably trying to avoid taking any shots on me, but I wish she wouldn't.

Almost immediately after I think that, though, she appears in my line of vision. The rain has drenched her, plastering her beautiful golden hair to her face in all different places. She tosses the quaffle over to Cece, who almost immediately tosses it back. I try to keep my eyes on it, but Alison is too quick. She disappears for a split second, and that's all she needs before the ding goes off. I slump my shoulders; I hadn't even see her attack coming.

"It's okay, Em! It's just one shot!" Toby shouts at me from a few feet away. I nod my head and give him a thumb's up. He smiles and then turns back upfield to help his fellow chasers with their next attack.

After a few seconds, the muffled ding is heard. I pump my fist; I can already tell it's going to be a close game. I glance around the pitch to see if I can lay eyes on Jenna, and see her progress with the snitch, but the raining has increased, making it even harder to see. I didn't even know that was possible.

I can see three blurred figures in green and silver charging after me, and I ready myself for their strike. My heart pounds louder and louder in my ears with every second that goes by. The wind roars, jerking my broom around, but I try to hold it steady.

The rain lets up enough for me to distinguish where each person is. Alison is on my far right, but she doesn't have the quaffle. Cece closes in, the quaffle in her hand, and aims for the right post. I block it down to Toby. I watch as he speeds down the field, the other chasers at his side. I sniff, wiping my wet nose.

Before I even have time to register anything, another Slytherin chaser has regained possession and is flying towards me. I can't tell if it's Alison or Cece, but their blonde hair ripples in the wind despite the rain. She jukes me a few times before shooting into the right hoop. The ding indicates that she scored.

I grimace; that's totally Alison.

Sure enough, she flips her wet hair out of her face and flashes me a smile. She flies close to me, stopping directly beside me.

"Hey, beautiful," she grins. "Are you taking it easy on me?"

I roll my eyes and smile a little. "Go away, Alison."

She smiles and reaches out, touching my face. Her hand is warm against my skin. She brushes some hair out of my eyes and shrugs. Her eyes sparkle as she watches me, and I feel my face heating up despite the freezing temperature.

The ding is heard again, and I know that it's time for Slytherin to launch their counterattack. In the split second I looked up the field, Alison disappeared from beside me. She had flown downfield a little bit to make it easier to pass the quaffle.

I sniff the air again and wipe some rain off of my forehead. My fingers drip, but I try to stay completely focused as the green and silver blurbs fly towards me.

At least, I tried to.

Everything around me goes quiet when I hear Alison scream, "EMILY WATCH OUT!"

Her voice is so foreign that I barely register what she's said, and the next few moments play out in slow motion. It's as if someone had a remote control and was altering the way that time flowed.

I watch as Noel winds up on the left of me, slamming the bludger as hard as he can in my direction. It makes a cracking sound, and I see that his paddle has actually snapped in half from the contact. The top piece of it flies off into the crowd, causing the Hufflepuffs in those particular stands to duck.

The black object pelts towards me, refusing to be slowed down by the whipping wind and rain. I shut my eyes forcefully, waiting for it to collide with me. Before the bludger can hit me, something else rams into me from behind, causing me to spin out of control and out of the trajectory of the bludger. My head slams into one of the goal posts, but thankfully my broom keeps me upright. I shake my head in a daze, trying to regain my full consciousness.

Part of me sighs in relief, but then the majority of my blood freezes. There's another scream that I don't want to recognize. I slowly open one of my eyes in time to see Alison spiraling down towards the ground, her broom barely supporting her. It sags to one side, causing her to fall even faster. My vision goes in and out, but I continue to follow her with my eyes.

My mouth goes dry and I scream, but I can't hear anything. There's a ringing in my ears that blocks out any foreign sound. I try to move after her, but I'm frozen. My body nor my broom listen to my brain, which screams at me on loop to dive after her.

She continues to fall, and it registers in my mind that we're well over 60 feet in the air. Something moves to my left, and I notice that it's the third Slytherin chaser coming towards me. They haven't even stopped play to see if Alison was okay.

I don't know how, but I instinctively close off any angle that this chaser has and block their shot. I throw the quaffle as far as I can into the middle of the field, not even caring where it goes. My mind is still on Alison.

I look down right in time to see her slam into the wet sand. She lands in a puddle, causing water to cascade all around her. There's a Gryffindor chaser beside her; I think that they helped break the fall. I narrow my eyes and recognize the long, dark hair as Sydney's.

An ear-splitting trumpet is sounded, indicating that one of the seekers has just caught the snitch. I'm so out of it that I don't know whether it was our team or Alison's that did so.

Time speeds back up to normal and I see Garrett flying towards the bottom of our goal hoops to check on Alison. Even though time has returned to normal flow, my hearing still hasn't. The ringing in my ears grows louder and louder.

Before I can react to anything, someone flies up beside me and grabs ahold of my shoulders. They start to forcefully shake me, trying to shake me out of my reverie.

"Emily!" his voice is firm. My eyes begin to focus more and I recognize that it's Toby who is shaking me.

"Toby," I say weakly. He pulls me into a warm hug, and grabs ahold of one of my hands.

"Are you okay?" Toby asks me. His voice wavers, either from the cold or being scared. He squeezes my hand and I start to slowly come back to reality.

"Emily!" he shouts when I don't answer.

"Alison," my voice is very low. I look directly beneath me to see a large group of people crowded around the base of the three posts.

"She's okay," Toby assures me. I give him a look that says 'I don't believe you.'

He gives me a look that says 'I don't blame you.'

Someone else's hand touches my right shoulder and I start. I turn back to see who it is and it's a few moments before I recognize that it's a fellow Gryffindor.

"Are you okay?" it's Sydney. I look at her strangely; why wouldn't I be? "It looked like you hit your head pretty hard."

"Huh?" I must have blacked out or something.

Sydney bites her lip and looks at Toby. "I think that she should also get to the infirmary, Toby."

Toby nods, agreeing. "I think that since she wasn't expecting the collision, it may have jarred her from reality."

Their voices sound like muffled buzzes, but I can still determine what they're saying.

"Come on, Em," Sydney's voice is soothing, and she lightly grasps my right bicep, and Toby grabs ahold of my left. They slowly help me down to the ground, but I find it difficult to stand when my feet touch the grass.

I see the large crowd again, but it's grown in numbers now. Someone hugs me from the side, their blonde hair getting in my mouth.

"Emily! Do you realize how close that was?" Hanna screams at me. She slaps my arm. "You gave me a heart attack! I thought that you were going to be paying attention to him after that warning!"

"What warning?" Spencer's voice asks from beside Hanna. Toby moves from beside me and puts his arm around Spencer. Aria appears beside me and gives me a side hug.

"Alison's!" Hanna exclaims, but doesn't go into any further detail. At least, if she does, I tune it out.

I drop my broom because I've heard the name of the person I had temporarily forgotten. Alison.

Without saying another word, I brush past Hanna and sprint as fast as I can towards the crowd of people.

"Careful! Everyone take a few steps back!" a voice orders from within the group. I push through the throng of people and fall to my knees between Nurse Meredith and Garrett. Garrett looks at me weirdly, no doubt wondering what I was doing there.

"Alison!" I exclaim.

She lie there, face down and motionless, the fragments of her broom scattered all around her. It had to have been snapped into at least thirteen pieces. I try to move closer to her, but Nurse Meredith throws me backwards.

"Don't touch her! You might hurt her even worse," she shouts at me.

My mouth goes even dryer as I watch her prod Alison a few times with her wand. Alison's hair covers the ground around her and hides her face from view. I can see that her legs are fractured from the fall and her arms are bent in strange directions. I hear Nurse Meredith say something about her shoulder bone being reduced to dust from the impact, and I gag a few times. Before I can hear any more, strong arms grab ahold of me and pull me away from the scene.

"You don't need to hear that," Toby's deep voice tells me. One of the girls grabs hold of one of my arms and another laces her fingers within mine.

"We need to get you to the infirmary, though," a voice I recognize as Lucas' tells me. I fall into him, and he wraps his arms around me in a hug.

"What's happening?" I find myself asking. It surprises me that I can hear my voice slurring.

"Noel aimed a bludger at you, but Alison pushed you out of the way and took the hit for you," Aria explains. "Sydney tried to help break the fall, but I think that everyone was just really shocked.

I can almost hear the tears forming in her eyes and her throat tightening up. We begin to walk off of the pitch and I guess towards the castle.

"Do you remember hitting your head on the goal post?" Spencer asks me. I shake my head, because, honestly, I don't really remember very much of anything.

"Okay, we're going to get you to the infirmary and get you checked out," Lucas announces.

"Consider yourself blessed that Nurse Meredith is occupied with Alison," Aria tells me. "I'd rather not have her operate on me. I think she'd botch it on purpose."

I nod a few times. I'm glad that Lucas is supporting me, because I think that I would have collapsed by now if I didn't have a crutch.

I try to subtly quicken the pace towards the castle because I'm freezing, and I don't think anyone else minds.

"Who won?" I question.

"Slytherin," Spencer answers after a beat. I sigh in frustration, but decide that I shouldn't get too worked up about it.

So instead, I ask the question I'm not sure that I want the answer to. "So, is Alison okay?"

No one responds, and every time I try to make eye contact, they look away.

Spencer is the first to speak. "Not exactly, but I think that she will be."

I breathe a sigh of relief. At least there's hope for her.

After that thought passes through my mind, though, I grimace. There's that saying that Spencer always says: "You know what they say about hope… it breeds eternal misery."

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**hey everyone! i'm sorry about the delay. i've been meeting deadlines for a novel i'm working on, and i also attended a weeklong conference that took over my life hahah. but i'm back :)**

**i hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter and i'm excited to hear what you think! review, pm, tweet me, anything! love hearing from you all!**


	15. Chapter 14

**i love writing alison :***

**i hope you guys enjoy!**

**so i want to address a guest review that was left for me lolz. first, if you're going to leave a review that's negative, i ask that you please do so with an account, so that i can respond to you via pm and defend myself. second, if you're going to hate on me and my imagination, please at least use proper grammar. now THAT is "cringey." i am genuinely sorry that i "butchered" harry potter; it wasn't my intention. in fact that makes me super sad that you think i did. ****i'm not "to lazy" (grammar...) to do research. i set hogwarts in america. creative freedom. FANFICTION. so yes, it is elementary school and high school, not primary and secondary. i understand that in Britain they start secondary school at 11. cool. that has nothing to do with this. i think that i disclaimed a few times that i was taking creative freedom. anyways, i am genuinely sorry if this offended you. i didn't mean to ruin your favorite things. i hope that in the future i can make a fanfic that is more satisfactory for you! even though i'm sure you'll never read this :( but thank you so much for your critique. i appreciate it :) have a great day lovely!**

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Ch 14

"Oh, I think she's coming around," someone with a deep voice says from above me. I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids are too heavy.

I begin to stir, but someone keeps me from moving too much.

"Emily?" a voice I recognize as Aria's asks.

I take a few deep breaths and finally force my eyes open. My vision is blurry for a few moments while my eyes try to adjust to their new surroundings. Lucas, Aria, Toby, Hanna, Caleb, and Spencer are all crowded around my bed.

I'm in a light room; judging by the beds, I would guess I'm in the Hospital Wing. All of the beds around me are empty, except one, which is curtained off. I try to strain my neck to see who is in that bed, but Spencer casually pushes my chest back down so I'm lying flat.

I give her a small, grateful smile.

My head throbs and I instinctively raise my left hand up to it. I'm not surprised when I feel a rather large bump on the back of my head. I gingerly touch it, careful not to press too hard. If I do, my vision goes black and I start to see stars.

"Em, how are you feeling?" Hanna asks from the foot of my bed. Her left hand is holding on to my toes for some weird reason.

"I'm okay," I reply groggily. Footsteps are heard from the entrance of the room, and everyone's head turns in that direction. Nurse Meredith appears from behind Toby.

"Oh, good, you're awake. That means all of you can finally leave," she snaps, rolling her eyes. Lucas gives her a weird look, but doesn't say anything. I chuckle a little because it's almost the same look that he used to give Alison.

Wait.

ALISON.

"Where's Alison?" I basically scream, causing Hanna to jump backwards. I fly upward into a sitting position and try to shake all of my friends off of me. "I need to see Alison!"

"Emily, calm down," Spencer tries to restrain me, but I push her away. She takes a couple steps back and regains her balance.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Nurse Meredith announces.

Aria gives me a look that says 'I'm worried; she ain't got this.'

Nurse Meredith rummages through her apron and pulls out a needle. I return Aria's frightened expression.

The last thing I remember before blacking out is Alison's scream.

* * *

I wake up in the middle of the night alone, only to find out that I'm sweating. I wipe my forehead, the sweat glistening on the back of my hand. I reach up to touch the lump on my head, but it's gone. Nurse Meredith must have healed me while I was asleep.

I sniff the air; it smells of bleach and other antiseptics.

My heart starts to beat uncontrollably as my eyes fall upon the closed off hospital bed across the aisle from me. I glance around the room to see if Meredith is anywhere around, but I'm pretty sure she isn't. She doesn't care that much about her patients.

I slip out from under my covers and slide my feet onto the cold, wooden floor. As silently as possible, I tiptoe across the room. The moon illuminates my path, shining in from one of the windows behind my bed.

I take one more quick look around before opening the curtains to Alison's hospital bed, and then closing them behind me. I take a deep breath, scared to turn around and see the damage done to her.

When I finally find the courage to, I almost throw up at the sight.

Her body is completely covered in casts, splinted in the correct directions. Her face is so beaten up and bloody that she's barely recognizable. Meredith didn't even take the time to clean her off; there's even still mud from the match splattered on her.

I move forward and sit on the side of her bed, eager to get started on cleaning her up. I use my gown to wipe some of the caked on blood off of her face. As I brush some off, her nose twitches. My heart skips a beat as it twitches again. I feel her hands balling up into fists by my side, and I hold my breath.

Her eyes flutter open—well, as open as they can—and she looks up at me. When she recognizes me, she widens her swollen eyes and reaches up to touch my face. Instinctively, I reach up and hold her hand.

"Oh my god, Emily," she whispers, her voice hoarse, "are you okay?"

I knit my eyebrows and shake my head at her. Why the hell is she asking _me_ that? Her hand drops lifelessly from my face, slipping through my fingers.

"Alison—"

"Please tell me you're okay," she interrupts me. I can hear the tension and strains in her throat. "Emily."

"Ali," I murmur, leaning down and touching my lips lightly to her forehead. I'm careful to avoid brushing any of her cuts or bruises. I pull her into a gentle hug, resting her head against my chest.

"Oh, I was so scared," she says into gown. "I knew something bad was going to happen."

"Ali," I say, putting a little distance between us. "You realize that you're the one who took the bludger for me, right?"  
"Yeah, but it's my fault," she groans miserably. "It's all my fault that you were even targeted."

She collapses back against her pillow and looks up at the ceiling. I can see the water forming in her eyes.

"Please don't cry," I whisper to her. "Quidditch is a rough game. It could've happened to anyone."

"But it happened to you," she swallows back tears, "because of me."

"I refuse to believe that," I tell her firmly. I tuck some of her beautifully messy hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"God, I'm so sorry, Em," she tells me.

"Don't be," I say, just as firmly as before. "But please stop avoiding the inevitable."

"What, the fact that we're about to kiss?" she smirks. My face flushes a deep crimson, and I open my mouth to speak a few times before reluctantly deciding it's better if I don't. I pretty much look like I'm making out with the air.

"I love making you blush," she teases, reaching up and touching my cheek. I hope that she can't feel how hot my face is. Judging by the fact that she smirks more, I would bet that she can.

"I'm glad," I mutter, my voice barely audible. She smiles at me with her eyes, her dimple showing on her left cheek.

"I'm fine, Em. Honestly, this is just the beginning. A hit from a bludger is child's play compared to what I'm going to go through in the future."

"You mean from Cece and Mona?"

"AH!" Alison suddenly cries, her face wrenching up in pain. The sheets scrunch within her fists as she thrusts herself backwards into her pillows.

"Alison!" I whisper-yell, looking around. My pulse quickens and my breathing is shortened. "Do I need to get the nurse?"

I frantically look around, trying to figure out to do. I start to panic, hyperventilating slightly. What do I do?

"Emily," she gasps, "Emily."

"Alison, I'm right here! I'm right here," I promise her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Emily," she groans, writhing in the bed. "Emily—"

"I'm right here," I repeat.

"Oh, Emily. My lips!"

I grab her hands within mine and squeeze. "Alison, I—wait, what?"

"My lips, Emily!" she continues to cry.

I furrow my eyebrows. "A-are you serious?"

Her shaking from crying transitions into shaking from laughing.

"Oh, Emily," she teases, sitting back up. She's smiling from ear to ear. "My lips are just so sore."

"I hate you. I hate you so much," I tell her indignantly. I can't believe I actually believed something was wrong. I sigh.

"Okay. Hate me all you want," she whispers, leaning closer into my face. She closes the gap between our lips with a chaste kiss.

"I don't hate you," I mumble incoherently.

"I know."

I stare at her for a few seconds before remembering that I'm supposed to be mad.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" I swat her arm. "I thought something was wrong!"

"Something was wrong," she muses. "I took a bludger for you, and you didn't even give me a thank you kiss."

"You are so annoying."

She shrugs, "You like it."

"Ugh, but please be serious," I tell her, my cheeks still burning. "Are you okay?"

"Emily," she laughs, "I'm fine. I wouldn't be joking around if I wasn't."

"Really? Promise?" I urge her. She smiles and nods a few times.

"Yeah, babe. I'm great," she assures me. "I'm a pretty tough bitch."

I chuckle when she winks at me. "Yeah, I can see that."

We remain silent for a few moments, just looking at each other.

"Hey, Alison?" I ask in a small voice. She raises her eyebrows, indicating for me to continue. "Thank you. For taking that hit for me."

Her smile widens even more—I didn't know that was possible.

"Anything for you, Emily."

"I—I should get back to my bed. It's almost morning."

She nods, but doesn't say anything more. Part of me feels like she's disappointed that I'm going back to my bed. I don't think that she understands that I need to, or I might blurt out something I don't want to.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Alison," I tell her as I stand up beside her bed. She smiles.

"I'm glad you are," her voice is soft. As I start to walk away, she lightly grabs onto my wrist. "Wait."

I turn back to her, letting her pull me closer to her. I lean down and give her a light kiss, and she smiles into it.

"Goodnight," I say, slowly lifting myself up off of her. I bite back the words I want to say to her.

Before I'm tempted to say the words again, I give her a small wave goodbye and head back to my bed, drawing the curtains behind me.

As I'm walking back to my bed, I take a few deep breaths to calm my breathing down.

I can't believe I almost just told Alison that I'm in love with her.

* * *

"Emily, you've been quiet ever since you got out of the hospital," Hanna comments. She puts some cream cheese on a blueberry bagel and takes a bite. Aria and Spencer watch me from across the dining table, waiting for my response.

"What's on your mind?" Spencer asks.

"Did Nurse Meredith like erase your ability to speak?" Hanna questions. She takes another large bite of her bagel.

"Hanna. Not now."

"No, sorry guys," I finally respond. "I'm just kind of worried."

Hanna furrows her eyebrows and looks at Spencer, who remains silent. She just sips on her orange juice.

"About Alison?" Aria is the first one to ask.

I nod.

"Look, I think it's cool that she took a bludger for you, but that doesn't make her a saint," Spencer puts her juice on the table.

"No, but she risked her life. That's a start," Hanna pipes up.

"I mean, I can't even imagine what this is going to do to her reputation. Everyone could tell that she took the hit for you," Aria says. She lightly brushes some crumbs off of the table.

"That's what I'm worried about," I admit.

"Hey," Aria reaches across the table and puts her hand on my forearm, "we're here for her too. If she's important to you, she's important to us."

Hanna nods from beside me and holds out a piece of a bagel for me to eat. I chuckle and take the bagel piece from her. When Spencer doesn't say anything, Aria elbows her in the side.

"Ow," she groans. "Okay, yes, I'm here for her, too. Promise. I just… I don't trust her completely yet."

"So almost dying does nothing?" Hanna cries. "She should be given an award!"

"Up until like last month she called you Hefty Hanna!" counters Spencer.

"But then she met Emily," Hanna swoons, clutching her chest. "Isn't that so romantic, Aria? Alison has been converted!"

The brunette in question just rolls her eyes.

"Anyways," she ignores her two friends, "whatever you think that we can do to help, please let us know."

"Thanks Aria. And you too, Hanna, Spence," I tell them, flashing a grateful smile. "I really appreciate it."

Spencer's eyes glaze over as she glances over my shoulder. Before any of us can see what she's looking at, she raises her hand above her head.

"Alison," she calls, "over here."

I almost spit out my orange juice in shock. I watch as Spencer forces a smile and beckons her to come join us.

I've never been so thankful to have such incredible, compassionate friends. I really have found my home here.

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**sorry for the long gap in updates. i've got the next chapter ready, so it definitely won't be as long ;)**

**i hope you guys enjoyed! review, pm, or tweet me! (same username) i love hearing from you guys! until next time :)**


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